Naruto and the Overpowered Academy Three
by Bakkughan
Summary: Even when he was young, Naruto had the power, but lacked the control. What would happen if he decides that with his amount of power, he doesn't need control? The results of young Naruto's experiments with his ungodly amount of chakra take the Elemental Nations by surprise. And storm. But mostly surpise.
1. A Shinobi's Strength

**AN:** Hello everyone! Welcome to my first Naruto fic. I've had these idea's for a fic running around my head for a long time now and finally decided to write them down. It's basically Naruto finding out a way to put his ungodly large amounts of chakra to good use by overpowering everything that he lacks the control for.

Most of it makes sense. I hope.

I also always thought that Naruto drew the short stick where jinchuuriki are concerned; they all get cool abilities or masteries over an element, but all Naruto gets is advanced healing. Something not unique to jinchuuriki, or Uzumaki, or shinobi in general! (I'm looking at you Orochimaru, you unkillable bastard you). So I decided to go for that fandom cliché where Naruto's Henge are solid, due to Kitsune's being associated with Tricksters in Japanese folklore.

Basically, Ichibi gives Gaara control over sand, Kyuubi give Naruto the power to shapeshift.

I have some idea's written up that I think are pretty neat, so I look forward to sharing this journey with you! ^^

To my readers who are still waiting on updates for MotC and HI, have no fear! As I was writing idea's up for this, I went through my notes for those stories and was struck with inspiration! MotC should have an update this week and HI the next, as long as my internet doesn't screw me over.

Let's get on with it.

* * *

A six year old boy, with impossibly bright yellow hair, was panting and sweating as he preformed push-ups in a small grassy field.

Well. Tried to anyway.

Arms shaking, Naruto Uzumaki, persona non gratia in the ninja village of Konoha, prankster extraordinaire, and determined to become the strongest shinobi his village had ever seen, gritted his teeth as he tried, and failed, to perform the next set of push-ups.

' _Come on! Just one more! I can do this dattebayo! Come on stupid arms, work, dammit, work!'_ , the child yelled inside his head, glaring at his trembling arms as if they were the cause for everything that was evil in the world.

Sadly, his glare was insufficient to keep him up, and with a soft _'thud´_ , young Naruto's body fell to the ground. Naruto groaned in defeat, before rolling over so he was lying on his back, looking at the clouds that were lazily drifting by overhead.

Unknown to him, many Nara were currently doing the same.

Still lying on his back, disappointment clearly on his face, Naruto heard the grunts and pants of his fellow classmates as they too struggled with the exercise.

His class was outside on one of the training fields of the Ninja Academy, the teachers finding the pleasantly sunny day to be perfect to engage the class in some physical exercises.

The class disagreed.

Still, the rest of Naruto's classmates had noticeably less difficulty with the exercise than he did. This wasn't very unusual, given that many of Naruto's classmates were several years older than Naruto was, the six year old having applied for the Academy at a far younger age than usual.

As a result, whenever they were assigned physical activities, Naruto would almost always fall behind. The only exception to this was whenever the assignment was endurance related, Naruto having not met anybody who was his equal where stamina was considered. Not that that mattered to the young child, who, with the logic all six-year old boys possess, thought that physical strength was both the coolest and most important thing a shinobi-to-be could have.

This led to some sneers being sent at the small blond, who had by now finally regained his breath and was now sitting up, looking dejectedly at his hands.

 _´Why am I so weak? Shinobi are supposed to be strong, right? How can I ever become a shinobi if I'm not strong?'_ , Naruto thought to himself, so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't even register the sandal clad feet standing in front of him, before a bellow brought him back to the real world with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

"UZUMAKI!"

The small child yelped in surprise, almost flying a few feet off the ground in shock, before realizing who had called his name.

He gave a sheepy grin at his Academy Instructor, scuffing his feet.

Considering the man's furious expression, Naruto didn't think he was impressed.

"Uzumaki," the man ground out between clenched teeth, "do you mind telling me why you are sitting here daydreaming instead of finishing the exercise like I told you to?"

Naruto clenched his jaw before looking at his feet, mumbling something lowly under his breath.

"What was that? Speak up Uzumaki, I didn't hear you!"

The blonde winced at the harsh tone before speaking up a little louder.

"I said that the exercise is too difficult.", the boy said softly, feeling more than seeing how the eyes of the rest of the class were fixed on him.

The instructor's face went an interesting, if alarming, shade of red, and his nostrils flared to an impressive size. Naruto hunched in on himself, anticipating the tirade that was sure to follow.

"Too difficult?! TOO DIFFICULT?! THAT'S IT UZUMAKI; I WON'T TAKE ANY EXCUSES LIKE THAT TO COVER UP YOUR LAZYNESS ANY LONGER! YOU WILL DO THESE PUSH-UPS AND YOU WILL STAY ON THIS FIELD UNTIL ALL YOUR PUSH-UPS ARE DONE! UNDERSTAND ME UZUMAKI?!" the man roared at Naruto, nearly bowling the small child over with the sheer volume of his voice.

Tears sprang unbidden up into the young boy's eyes, though he refused to let them fall.

' _It's not fair! I'm not lazy! I'm not! These exercises are all for the bigger kids, not for me. It's not fair.'_ , Naruto thought to himself in a mix of frustration, anger and sadness.

He gave a small nod to his Instructor and dropped down on his hands and feet, and started continuing his push-ups.

He was forced to continue long after the last bell had rung, signalling the end of the school day.

* * *

A tired, battered and dirty Naruto shuffled along the streets to the small apartment he called home. He was too tired to even be bothered by the angry glares and derisive sneers that were sent his way by nearly everybody on the streets. He simply trudged along, his mind solely focused on the seemingly impossible task of setting one foot in front of the other.

As a result, he didn't look up in time to see a tall person standing in his way holding a very large box. With a small yelp of surprise Naruto ran into the man, who appeared to barely register the impact. Unlike Naruto, who was rubbing his head in equal parts of pain and confusion.

' _Damn. It's like I walked into a wall instead of a person.'_ , the young boy thought to himself, before blanching that he had walked into someone.

While for anybody else this may have been simply the cause for some embarrassment, for Naruto it was far worse. Usually the villagers left him alone, something they made sure to remind him of in the most hurtful of ways. However, walking into someone would give them the excuse to at least smack him around the ears for a bit.

Disciplinary action, they would call it.

So it was with great fear as Naruto looked up at the man he had just collided with. Or at least tried to. The man's torso and head were obscured by the enormous box the man was carrying, the reason why he hadn't seen Naruto.

Briefly Naruto thought about making a break for it, but any hope for escape was dashed when a spiky-haired head peered around the side of the box, looking around confusedly, before landing on the small, prone and dirty form of Naruto Uzumaki.

"Oh. Hey kid, didn't see you there.", the man said jovially.

Naruto was surprised at the mild reaction at first. He scrutinized the face of the man in front of him and released a quiet breath when he saw the man's forehead protector. A ninja then. Naruto didn't mind ninja so much, mostly because they didn't mind him, as long as he wasn't playing pranks.

The ninja set his box on the ground before crouching in front of Naruto, a concerned look on his face.

"You okay kid?"

Naruto mutely nodded, unsure what to do with this positive attention that was given to him. Usually it came only from the nice people at Ichiraku's or else the Old Man Hokage, but the rest of the ninja's usually tried to simply ignore him.

Another voice called out above the din of people walking up and down the streets.

"Kotetsu! Kotetsu, what's the hold up!?"

"Hey Izumo! Over here!"

Another ninja joined the first one, an irritated expression on his face, that made Naruto shrink back out of habit. He didn't need to worry though, as the second shinobi lost his expression when he saw Naruto's sweaty and dirty clothes and distraught expression.

"What happened Kotetsu?", the newcomer asked in a far more relaxed tone of voice.

"I ran into little Naruto here, quite literally in fact.", the one called Kotetsu quipped back, before turning to Naruto.

"Speaking of; what are you doing out here, kid? It's getting pretty late and you look like hell."

This earned him a slap around the head from Izumo, annoyed expression back on his face.

"Ow! What?! He does!"

Another slap.

"That doesn't mean you have to say it straight to his face, you buffoon!"

Kotetsu opened his mouth to retort, but was stopped by a soft giggling sound coming from somewhere around his knees. Both shinobi looked down to see Naruto laughing at the pair of ninja in front of him. When he saw them looking at him however, he quickly clasped a hand over his mouth, while feeling an impressive blush crawl up his face.

Izumo and Kotetsu simply smiled, before Izumo squatted down so he could look Naruto in the eye.

"Still, Naruto, Kotetsu is right. It _is_ getting rather late, and you... don't look your best. Why are you still out here? Didn't the Academy finish a few hours ago?", Izumo asked in a gentle voice.

Naruto bit his lip, looking from Izumo to Kotetsu and back again. Feeling somewhat encouraged by their friendly faces and attitudes, Naruto told them what had happened during his school-day. As he finished his tale, Naruto looked sadly down at his feet, missing the angry expressions the two shinobi in front of him sent each other after hearing the treatment the small child had received from his teacher.

"I just don't get it.", Naruto said softly to himself, catching the attention of Izumo and Kotetsu.

"What is it you don't get Naruto?", Izumo asked gently of the blonde boy.

Naruto looked up at the two ninja, unshed tears in his eyes.

"Well, ninja are strong right? And I know the exercises at the academy will make me strong too, so I can be a ninja too. But I'm too weak to do the exercises, so... does that mean I can never be a ninja?", Naruto asked with a trembling voice.

It was his greatest fear, to not be a ninja, since becoming one was his biggest dream. His only dream. It was what allowed him to wake up in the morning and face the rest of his shitty day with a beaming smile on his face, because no matter what, Naruto Uzumaki was going to be the best damn ninja the Leaf had ever had, dattebayo!

Except now, doubt had begun to set in if his dream was even attainable in the first place.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Kotestu placing a large hand on his narrow shoulder, a grin on his face.

"Don't you worry kid! Sure you can become a ninja! Do you think ninja get their strength from just physical exercise? If that was the case, then there'd be a lot more civilians in the shinobi business, don't ya think?"

Naruto nodded his head, despite not being sure he completely understood what Kotetsu was trying to say. Something Izumo obviously picked up on, because the man gave a sigh, before giving Kotetsu a firm shove, sending the spiky-haired man face-first into the dirt. Naruto withheld a snort of amusement, not willing to antagonize one of the two friendly shinobi he knew, before focusing on Izumo who was looking at him intently.

"What Kotetsu was trying to say, and miserably failed at," "Hey!" ", is that shinobi don't rely solely on physical strength. Sure, it's important, but what gives a shinobi his strength is chakra. Do you know what chakra is Naruto?", Izumo asked.

Naruto scrunched up his face. Classes at the Academy were hard, both because of the course material being intended for children older than him and because of the negative attitude from both his teachers and his peers. As a result, Naruto didn't have the most stellar performance in the Academy.

"Chakra is... uhh... the energy stuff. Right? It lets you do jutsu?", he asked, unsure of himself.

Izumo opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Kotetsu.

"Sure thing kid, close enough, for now at least. But it doesn't just let you do jutsu. If you call on it and focus it to run through your body, your body becomes stronger and faster and becomes more durable!", Kotetsu exclaimed with great enthusiasm.

A light lit up in Naruto's eyes.

"Really!"

Kotetsu grinned.

"Really, really. Here, try to lift this box."

A little surprised at the odd request, Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders and decided to humour the man. After all they had been nice so far, and Kotetsu had been carrying the box around without any problems. So how heavy could it be?

Very heavy, it appeared.

Naruto grunted, his fingers scrabbling against the box, trying to lift it, or at the very least nudge it a little bit.

The box didn't budge. Not even slightly.

Naruto let out a huff of frustration and tiredness. Kotetsu clapped him on the back, grin still on his face.

"No worries kid. You see, without chakra I probably couldn't lift this thing myself. With chakra however...", Kotetsu trailed off, his grin growing even wider.

He cracked his knuckles before walking over to the box and with a flourish, lifted the entire thing in a single smooth movement above his head. Kotetsu laughed at Naruto when the boy's jaw dropped in shock, while Izumo looked on with a small smile.

As Kotetsu put the box back down, after all, with or without chakra, the thing was damned heavy, Naruto found his voice again.

"That's so cool! So I can do that too?! As long as I use chakra?!", the small boy yelled excitedly.

Izumo chuckled, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder in order to keep the hyperactive blond from literally bouncing in place.

"Yes Naruto, when you have unlocked your chakra you can steer the flow of it through your body and use it to strengthen your body. If you use a little chakra, you become a little stronger, if you use a lot of chakra you become a lot stronger."

"COOL!", the small boy yelled, drawing a few glares from some bystanders. Naruto didn't care though.

It would seem his dream was still attainable. As soon as he learned how to unlock his chakra he would be the strongest shinobi ever, dattebayo!

* * *

Naruto stood in the middle of the deserted Academy training ground, the school having already finished for the day, both teachers and students eagerly having headed home.

Naruto, however, had some far more important things to do before he could even think about going back to his apartment.

It had been a little over two months after he had met Izumo and Kotetsu. A little over two months since he learned that the secret to a shinobi's strength was his chakra. A little over two months of agonized waiting for the moment where he _finally_ learned to unlock his own chakra.

That moment had been today.

The teachers had deemed them ready and had spent the entire day on the theory behind unlocking one's chakra. It was the first time Naruto had managed to keep his attention on the material for an entire lesson.

After the instructors had finally gotten through the entire theory the day had already come to an end and the students were dismissed with the promise of the application of the theory tomorrow and the threat of bodily harm should they try to do it themselves before then.

However, after spending two months of waiting already, Naruto couldn't wait any longer.

Which led him to standing alone in a deserted training ground, his feet spread evenly apart, his hands in the ram seal and his eyes scrunched up in concentration.

' _Breathe. Breathe. Find your centre. Feel the warm glow of your chakra, hidden inside of you. Draw it out and hold it. And breathe.'_ , Naruto kept chanting the theory in his head, trying to look inwards like the instructors had told them.

He had been at it for a few hours now and still hadn't found the glow the instructors had talked about. However, he had become really bored.

' _Breathe.'_

As a result he slowly lost his rigid stance, his furrowed brow smoothing out.

' _Breathe.'_

His mind, noisy with the mantra he kept repeating over and over, quieted to a serene silence.

' _Breathe.'_

Slowly, without Naruto even consciously aware of it his mind turned inwards.

' _Brea- wait, what?'_

There was no glow as from a candle, like the instructors had told them, the candle representing their chakra. No, what Naruto encountered was as far removed from a candle like an ocean was to a glass of water. Had Naruto not been speechless with what he was seeing, feeling, experiencing, he would have compared his chakra to a sun instead of a measly candle.

At first, the unexpected frightened Naruto, and he kept away from the enormous light and warmth. But the warmth seeped into his bones, warming him up pleasantly and the light felt soothing on his skin. Slowly, with a blissful smile on his face Naruto let himself be enveloped by the benevolent light.

Had anyone been present, they would have seen Naruto light up like a beacon, before a blue, flame like light shimmered into existence around the boy, swirling around his body like a maelstrom, slightly grooving the ground beneath his feet.

Naruto didn't notice though. The light felt so good on his skin, in his bones, running through his veins.

' _Chakra is so awesome.'_ , the thought floated through his mind.

This brought him out of his semi-delirious state. Naruto snapped to attention.

' _Chakra! I have found my chakra! Now I need to draw it out.'_ , Naruto thought happily to himself, even as he felt a little saddened at having to leave the warmth of this light.

He slowly drifted out of the centre of the light back to his consciousness, his chakra still surrounding him, trailing away from the source. As Naruto came back into his own consciousness he could feel the chakra running through their pathways through his entire body. It was as if instead of the light surrounding him like it had, he was now surrounding the light.

Naruto grinned and opened his eyes, not knowing they were glowing impossibly bright with an inner light. Naruto retook his stance, chakra still swirling around him. He concentrated feeling the chakra flow through his body.

' _Wait.'_ , a thought suddenly broke through his concentration.

' _I apparently have a lot of chakra. Izumo said that the more chakra you use, the stronger your body becomes. Sooooo... what happens when I draw out even more chakra?'_ , Naruto thought to himself, starting a train of thought that would change the history of the Elemental Nations.

But that was still a few years off though. For now, Naruto simply grinned, the same way he would when he was about to pull a particularly spectacular prank and closed his eyes. Focusing on the warm feeling that had enveloped him not so long ago, he drew more of it out.

The swirling chakra around him grew even larger, churning faster and faster, the ground beneath Naruto's feet scarred with deep grooves.

Naruto didn't notice though, he simply kept his eyes closed and focused on drawing more and more chakra out.

* * *

By now, several shinobi and even a few civilians had taken notice of the enormous chakra being emitted from around the Hokage Tower, where the Academy was located. The Hokage himself, a wizened old man in white robes with a wide hat on his face, sat up straighter in his chair, eyes widened in shock.

"Naruto?", the man asked softly, chewing nervously on his unlit pipe, before reaching for a crystal ball.

* * *

Unaware of the unrest he was stirring up, Naruto was still drawing on his chakra, though he was frowning now. Calling on his chakra had become uncomfortable, not exactly painful yet, but Naruto didn't like the feeling nonetheless. On top of that, instead of being pleasantly warmed by the light running through his veins, his body now felt as if he was burning up from a fever.

' _This is it.'_ , Naruto thought to himself, gritting his teeth.

He opened his eyes, and focused on a young tree nearby, for no other reason that it stood closest to him. Cocking his fist back and forcing the light in his body to run through his limbs and pool in his balled hand, Naruto bend his knees, preparing to rush forward.

Due to his focus on his target, and because he held his clenched fist a little behind him, he didn't see chakra beginning to swirl around his fist and forearm, coating it in a violently churning shroud of chakra.

As Naruto prepared to take off, several ninja managed to reach his training ground. Among these shinobi were the majority of the sensei's of what would later be recognized across the Elemental Nations as the Rookie Twelve. Right on their heels, was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.

"Naruto!", he called out in shock.

Within him, and most of the other shinobi present, worry wrestled with pride. To call upon ones chakra at such a young age was impressive. Not to speak of the truly gargantuan amount the child was channelling, making it visible as a swirling shroud around him.

However, calling upon ones chakra wasn't without its own risks. There was a reason why it was always done supervision after all. Not to mention what kind of damage channelling such large amounts of chakra could do to such a small body.

Naruto heard his Jiji's call, recognized the worry in the aged Hokage's voice, but discovered that he couldn't stop. The sheer amount of chakra had already been called upon and now demanded an outlet.

It hurt trying to hold it back, so, in what would later be regarded as a typical Naruto-like leap of logic, Naruto decided to continue instead.

With a yell, that to the surrounding shinobi sounded more like a roar that shook the earth, Naruto pushed off, shunting power into his legs, and shattering the ground beneath him as a result.

Faster than a regular eye could track, Naruto shot forwards, a blinding blue blur, streaking across the training field, creating a deep furrow into the ground, shocking many of the watching ninja.

Naruto, however, was simply scared. Everything was going so fast! He couldn't see anything, the world around him dissolving into a blur, except for the young tree he had elected to serve as his practise target.

Deciding that hitting the tree with his face would be a lot more painful than hitting it with his fist, Naruto shot his fist forward, only now noticing with amazement the way his swirling chakra coated his hand all the way up to the elbow.

He had no time to think anything of it though, because then the tree was suddenly right _there_ and Naruto managed a single shriek of fear before the world lit up before going dark.

* * *

Hiruzen held his hand across his face, blocking out the brilliant light as Naruto collided with the tree. He couldn't block the deafening sound though, a bone rattling _'BOOM'_ that shook the earth. As the light died away, Hiruzen removed his hand, not bothering to hide his worried expression.

' _Kami, Naruto, what have you done?'_ , the elderly man asked himself silently.

He quickly rushed towards Naruto, sensing Kakashi and his son Asuma, as well as a few others doing the same. When he arrived at where Naruto had collided with the tree, his face lost all colour, hand clutching at his breast in fear. Vaguely his mind distractedly noticed one of the female shinobi throwing up, his son comforting her.

He couldn't really blame the woman. Only willpower and a lifetime of seeing similar or worse in brutal wars kept him from following her example.

Because there, lying in a blackened crater, with his shirt shredded and unconscious was Naruto. His right arm though... It couldn't really be called an arm anymore. As far as Hiruzen could see, there simply wasn't any skin left, exposing the red muscle underneath to the air. What was left of it anyway. Most of it was as blackened as the ground Naruto was lying on. Stark white bones stuck out of his arm at odd intervals, standing in sharp contrast to the boy's flesh.

Hiruzen fell to his knees next to his surrogate grandson, unheeding of how the charred earth smeared soot across his pristine white robes.

Slowly, as if afraid he may harm the boy should he move to fast, Hiruzen placed his fingers on Naruto's throat.

' _Please! Please, Kami, revered and honoured ancestors,_ _ **please**_ _, anybody, let him have a pulse, please, let him have a pu-'_

' _thud-thud.'_

Hiruzen almost cried with relief as underneath his fingers he felt a steady, if faint, heartbeat.

Looking up in the worried face of Hatake Kakashi, Hiruzen let out a shaky smile, before nodding once, not trusting his voice right now. Obviously Kakashi understood what he meant, because the Elite Jounin let out an explosive sigh, before sinking to the ground next to Hiruzen, dragging a shaky hand across his face.

Around them, relieved murmuring was heard as Naruto's status of remaining amongst the living spread. Neither man bothered to pay attention, looking at the unconscious Naruto with unblinking intensity, as if afraid that if they looked away for even a second, Naruto would slip away.

Given how hurt he was, the fear was not unfounded.

Hiruzen felt a hand clamp on his shoulder, as the scent of tobacco his nose.

"Medics are on their way, and an emergency operating-room is being prepared as we speak.", Sarutobi Asuma said to him in a soft voice, any animosity between father and son shoved to the background in the face of this crisis.

Hiruzen patted his sons hand and nodded, acknowledging the message. He would much rather take Naruto himself and _shunshin_ to the hospital, but that could easily aggravate Naruto's wounds even further.

No, best to let the professionals take over. For now.

Suddenly a silence fell across the clearing as Naruto groaned.

Hiruzen was at his side so fast it put the _Hiraishin_ to shame.

"Sshh, Naruto, it's going to be alright, okay? You just need to lay still. Do you hear me Naruto?", Hiruzen said, trying, and failing, to keep the worry out of his voice, not wanting to scare the boy he considered his grandson.

An affirmative grunt was his response before Naruto turned around, looking up at Hiruzen with pained eyes. Suddenly the boy let out a shaky grin.

"I did it Jiji. I unlocked my chakra. I'm going to be super strong now Jiji, dattebayo!", Naruto managed to croak, a victorious expression on his soot covered face.

"I did it Jiji...", Naruto trailed off as he fell unconscious again.

Hiruzen laughed shakily, running a hand trough his hair, not caring he knocked off his ceremonial hat in the process. He looked around the small crater where there once used to be a tree, before turning to look at the direction Naruto had punched in, several slack-jawed ninja already walking across it.

"I would say that you did indeed, Naruto.", Hiruzen managed, while beside him Kakashi lifted his forehead protector in disbelief.

Where once had been a part of the small forest, there now was a clearing, starting from the crater where Naruto was lying in, then fanning out to a diameter of about twenty meters and continuing on for almost twice that, felled trees littering the ground, their scorched barks making the ground appear to be black.

"You did indeed."

* * *

 **AN: ** Ah, Izumo and Kotetsu, you are among my favorite minor characters.

 **Fun Fact:** Naruto's favorite ramen shop "Ichiraku" exists in real life. Ichiraku is a ramen shop in Kyushu near the university that author Masashi Kishimoto graduated from. Talk about some good product placement huh?


	2. Discoveries

**AN:** Hello and welcome to the second chapter of my story! Sorry it took a little longer than I said it would, but the Kyuubi took control and just ran with it. Sorry about that. Also, I alway try to reply in pm's to people who review my story, but I recently realized that that leaves out the guest reviewers. So I'll just reply here! :D

Mr. Hexalia: Thank you! I don't intend to :)

Chrys: Merci beacoup por votre examiner et voila! Voici c'est le prochain chapitre! =D

* * *

' _Drip.'_

' _Drip.'_

' _Drip.'_

The hallway was shrouded in darkness. It ended in a large, square room, which was lighted by no visible means, and was flooded by murky water, which came up to slightly above the ankle. On the opposite side of the dark hallway, the wall of the room was replaced by thick golden bars, reaching up from the ground to the impossibly high ceiling. They appeared to be held closed by a relatively small scrap of paper, on which the kanji for "seal" was inscribed in black ink.

In front of the bars, floating on his back, was a small blond child, unconscious. Which was probably a good thing, as the child most likely would have been scared out of his mind by what awoke _behind_ the enormous bars.

Two blood red slitted eyes opened in the darkness that mirrored the hallway. Each eye was as large as an average man was tall, and both focused with unnatural intensity on the small figure floating in front of them, so close, but out of their reach because of the bars in-between them.

For now.

A dark chuckling came from the inky blackness, shaking the room as if there was a particularly violent earthquake.

" **So, the jailor finally meets his prisoner."** , a malevolent voice rumbled across the vast emptiness of the room.

A wide grin, filled with enormous teeth appeared underneath the glowing red eyes, each tooth glinting with sharpness, creating a truly terrifying image.

" **And what a meeting it shall be."** , the voice continued ominously, before it retreated back into the darkness of its prison.

The small child hadn't stirred even once.

* * *

It was a beautiful day in the ninja village of Konoha. The sun was shining brightly, basking the land in a warm glow, while a gentle breeze kept the temperature pleasantly cool. Birds were singing amongst the great trees surrounding the village, while in the underbrush, small critters flew back and forth, either for food or fun.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't notice any of this.

The elderly Hokage's attention was focused solely on the small figure lying in the bed in front of him. Right arm swaddled in bandages, along with most of the rest of his body, Naruto Uzumaki was lying peacefully on the bed, looking as if he was merely asleep.

Hiruzen turned his tired gaze to the nurse next to him, who had just run the latest batch of tests.

"Any change in his condition?"

The nurse looked up from her clipboard on which she had been furiously scribbling, only to give her leader a small shake of her head. The Hokage sighed, before turning to look at Naruto, just like he had been doing since the child had been brought into the hospital.

"Hokage-sama..."

Hiruzen gave a small, reassuring smile, though his eyes didn't leave his surrogate grandson for even a second.

"You may take your leave now, nurse-san. I will alert the nearest medic should he wake.", he said warmly, expressing his gratitude through the tone of his voice.

Apparently satisfied that her charge would be looked after, the nurse bowed curtly, before quickly leaving Naruto's room.

As soon as the door clicked closed, a man stepped out from the shadows of one of the corners of the room. Hiruzen didn't even twitch at the sudden appearance of the ninja. He had sensed the man the moment he had stepped foot in the hospital, after all.

"Salamander.", the Hokage said, acknowledging the man's presence, but still not looking away from Naruto's unconscious form.

"Hokage-sama.", the masked ninja replied, before joining his leader at the foot end of the hospital bed.

Silence reigned between the two men, only disturbed by the rhythmic beating of the heart monitor attached to Naruto. Hiruzen gave another sigh, before turning to address his ANBU-Commander.

"What's the situation, Salamander?"

The Commander straightened, snapping to attention immediately, and gave his report in clipped tones.

"Sir. The area around Uzumaki's... accident had been cordoned off, while those who were present have all been ordered to consider what happened an S-Rank secret for now, until you have assigned it a proper ranking. In the meantime, several of ANBU's best have investigated the area of Uzumaki's accident."

Hiruzen nodded, before asking the question which answer he dreaded more than anything.

"And what was the result of the investigation? Did Naruto-kun use any of... _its_ chakra?", the elderly Hokage asked, though his voice was calm and steady, even as his inside were squirming around.

"No, Hokage-sama. It was the first thing our best sensors tried to find out and they have universally come to the conclusion that all the chakra used by Uzumaki was his own."

Hiruzen managed to contain his sigh at the last second, though he couldn't help the relieved sagging of his posture. If his Commander noticed, then the man wisely didn't say anything.

The Third Hokage turned back to Naruto's sleeping form.

"Well, that's a small comfort at least.", Hiruzen muttered to himself.

The Commander cleared his throat. Through sheer willpower, Hiruzen managed to keep himself from groaning, though he turned to the ANBU with narrowed eyes. Taking that as his queue, the masked ninja continued.

"What should we tell the public, Hokage-sama? Many amongst our ninja forces have noticed the enormous amounts of chakra that young Uzumaki-san drew upon. When his teachers notice his absence in the coming days, they will ... draw conclusions, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen did groan this time.

"And because it was ANBU who handled the investigation, we can't even use the records of their findings to calm the people.", the Third said in a frustrated voice.

The Hokage walked towards one of the windows, looking out across his village, hands clasped behind his back, as his wrinkled brow wrinkled even further as the old man thought deep and hard about what action he should take.

' _Kami, I wish I had my pipe right now.'_ , he thought mournfully.

The ANBU remained standing at attention, patiently waiting for his leader to come up with whatever action they should take. He didn't have to wait very long.

Hiruzen turned away from the window with a twinkle in his eye.

"We tell them the truth."

Had the ANBU not worn his signature mask, the world would've been treated to a slack-jawed ANBU Commander, a rare sight indeed.

"Hokage-sama?", the ninja asked hesitantly.

"Not the _entire_ truth, of course. We will simply say that young Uzumaki had been attempting to unlock his chakra, as was instructed, but made a mistake in doing so, and released far more than he had intended to summon. _It_ was never involved as our beloved Yondaime's seal still holds strong and wouldn't allow it. Young Naruto shall be kept under observation to monitor any possible damage he has done to himself. Make sure to mention the seal in the statement Salamander."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. It shall be done. But...", the ANBU trailed off.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

"Yes Salamander."

"Permission to speak freely Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen's other eyebrow joined its brother in a journey to his hairline. It was a _very_ unusual question to be asked by an ANBU-Commander. Hiruzen could in fact recall all previous instances on one hand and three of those had been during wartime.

"Permission granted, Salamander. Speak your mind.", Hiruzen said, curious what his Commander wanted to say, unfiltered by protocol or decorum.

The ANBU nodded and relaxed his stance somewhat.

"Hokage-sama, what do we do with the... destructive capabilities of Uzumaki's experimentation? Our sensors came to the conclusion that the technique Uzumaki used was rather unfocused. With proper training and control, the results could be... impressive."

For the second time in as many minutes, Hiruzen's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

"Indeed? That's most impressive.", the elderly Hokage mused, looking at the child in the hospital-bed.

' _Such strength. Such power. At such a young age too. Minato-kun, Kushina-chan, you would be proud of your son.'_ , the aged ninja thought fondly to himself, before frowning in thought.

' _Salamander is correct though. Whatever Naruto did, we cannot let this go unsupervised. He needs training in order to avoid getting into accidents like this again. Not to mention Danzo is probably already aware of Naruto's feat and he'll be even more eager to get his claws into him. But who else...'_ , Hiruzen thought to himself, absently stroking his beard.

Suddenly a grin stretched across the aged Hokage's face, making the ANBU-Commander suddenly _very_ nervous.

"Salamander-san.", Hiruzen intoned gravely, a silence falling across the room as the ANBU awaited his next order in trepidation.

"Get me... Gai-kun."

* * *

Inside the large room, the small child groaned in discomfort.

"Ugh, what happened?", young Naruto moaned as he sat upright, rubbing his head.

He opened his eyes, taking in the cavernous room and the enormous golden bars in front of him.

"Better yet, where am I?", the ninja-to-be, asked himself.

An ominous rumbling shook the room, making Naruto's teeth clatter. It took a few moments before the blond child realised the grumbling sound was something chuckling. Instinctually realizing that for something to produce such a sound, it was probably far, _far_ bigger than he was, Naruto huddled in on himself in fear.

Two glowing red orbs appeared in front of him, each one easily twice his own height. Then Naruto saw the slits in the orbs and realised that they were in fact _eyes_. Fully confronted with the massiveness of the being in front of him, despite not being able to see the rest of the creature's body, Naruto whimpered and quickly scrambled away from the enormous golden bars.

An enormous grin, filled with impossibly sharp teeth stretched itself wide below the two eyes.

" **HA! Do I frighten you so much, small one? That would make you smarter than most of your pitiful kind then. Despite previous evidence to the contrary."** , the massive being sneered at Naruto, trying, and somewhat succeeding, in cowing the young child.

It had, however, forgotten one important thing. Naruto was used to being sneered at, ironically because of the creature itself.

So when confronted with the unknown and dangerous, Naruto would react as any other would have, with a healthy amount of fear.

But confronted with the familiar, no matter how scary, Naruto reacted in his usual matter.

Which was shouting.

Loudly.

Not entirely sure what the being had meant, but pretty sure he had just been insulted, Naruto sprung to his feet, a small finger pointing accusingly at the monstrous being behind the golden bars.

"Shut up meany! I am Naruto Uzumaki, dattebayo! I'm gonna be the best Hokage there ever was, so there!"

Satisfied with his fool proof argument, Naruto smirked and crossed his arms in front of his small chest.

There was a short stunned silence as the eyes focused on Naruto with incredulity. Then-

" **BWAHHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAA!"**

-it laughed. The room shook with the sheer sound the being's laughter, dust shaken loose from the high ceiling.

" **THAT is your defence? You shall become Hokage? HA! I take back what I said, you are most definitely NOT smart in any conceivable way."** , the monstrous being said disdainfully.

Naruto scowled at his tormenter. He didn't understand all of the big words, but he knew when someone was insulting him.

It came from experience.

"Oh yeah?! Well, I'm still gonna be Hokage, no matter what you say, so you just wait until I prove you wrong! Nothing can stop me dattebayo!", Naruto shouted back, storming up to the bars.

The enormous glowing eyes lowered closer to the ground, looking Naruto straight in the eye.

" **Oh, but** _ **I**_ **can, little one."**

Before Naruto could really interpret the beings words, he had to jump back, his reflexes saving him from being smashed to a pulp by the enormous claws that slammed down where Naruto had been standing mere moments before.

The room shook at the impact, amplified by the enormous roar the creature unleashed in frustration.

" **RAAAHH! Get closer, so I may kill you, you miserable wretch! Get closer, and I shall finally be able to free myself!"** , the being roared, trashing about in its prison, smashing against the bars.

As it did so, it finally came into the light, giving Naruto his first glimpse of his prisoner. He didn't like what he saw.

It was a massive fox, standing taller than even the Hokage Tower, the tallest structure in Konoha. It had a surprisingly human body shape and was coloured a vibrant orange. This wasn't what drew Naruto's attention however. No, the small child was captivated by what was _behind_ the massive fox.

Nine tails, as orange as their owner and the biggest things Naruto had ever seen in his short life, were trashing about, creating whipping winds as they swung around, and creating tremors when they struck the walls, ground, or the golden bars.

"K-K-Kyuubi.", Naruto whispered horrified to himself.

The trashing fox immediately stilled, its enormous red eyes snapping to the young ninja. Slowly the enormous grin returned, and the fox settled down, resting its head, larger than Naruto's apartment, on its human-shaped forearms.

" **So, you at least know who I am. Good. Every jailor, no matter how pitiful, should know who their prisoner is."** , the beast rumbled, apparently satisfied with the terrified reaction it had gotten out of Naruto, simply by showing his form.

Naruto's overwhelmed mind reacted to the first part of what the massive fox had said, not really registering the second part.

"You are the Kyuubi. You attacked Konoha!", Naruto shouted, terror making place for hate against the reason for one of the greatest tragedies to have struck his beloved village.

And possibly the reason he now had no parents.

Naruto ignored the thought and glared at the massive fox, though he made sure to keep his distance.

Which was a good thing, as Kyuubi slammed against the bars again.

" **I did not do so under my own control, but rest assured, once I get free from this prison I** _ **will**_ **finish what that damned Uchiha started!"** , the nine-tails roared.

Naruto frowned in confusion. He didn't expect such an answer when he had accused the monster.

"What? What do you mean? _You_ tried to destroy Konoha didn't you?", Naruto asked, his mind not really capable of keeping up after the multitude of shocks it had gone through this day.

The Kyuubi snorted.

" **Yes I did, and I would do so again in a heartbeat. It deserves nothing less after what it has done to me!"** , the being responded with hate lacing his voice.

Before Naruto could jump to the defence of his village and plead that they did not, in fact, deserve total annihilation, the Kyuubi continued.

" **However, the attack of six years ago, I did not do it of my own will."**

The great beast chuckled darkly.

" **Though I guess that's not entirely true. I certainly** _ **wanted**_ **to destroy your pitiful village. However, someone else controlled me."**

Naruto was floored, before closing his mouth with a snap. He pointed at the great fox with an angry glare.

"You're lying. You're just trying to blame someone else for it!"

Naruto should know. He had often tried to do the same himself, whenever he was caught during a prank. Though he never seemed to get away with it.

The monstrous fox immediately slammed into the bars again, sending Naruto staggering at the impact.

" **You DARE! You dare question my word! I am the great Kyuubi no Kitsune! I am the mightiest of all Tailed Beasts, the most powerful creation of our father! My tails flatten mountains and rise tsunami's! What use do I have for falsehoods and lies?!"** , the being raged, fixing Naruto with a hateful stare.

" **Listen closely, small one. I may trick you. I may deceive you. I am a Kitsune after all and the most powerful in existence at that. However. I. Do. NOT. LIE."** , the Kyuubi bit out, lowering its head so it could look Naruto straight in the eye.

Naruto blinked, before looking at the beast in confusion, his mind too tired to continue being terrified.

"Why not? It's not like I could tell, right?", Naruto asked innocently.

Surprised, the Kyuubi looked down at the small child, who was looking back at him without fear, just curiosity.

It sighed, before laying its head on its forearms again, staring over Naruto's head into the distance, with an expression Naruto couldn't place.

" **Because my father raised me better than that."** , the fox said wistfully.

* * *

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

The windows to Naruto's room shattered as a green clad man crashed through them. He had obviously intended to land on his feet, but instead found himself pushed into a wall, with the blade of a tanto inches from his face.

"Salamander, you may release Gai-kun now."

"Apologies Hokage-sama."

"Apology accepted, Salamander, no harm done."

Gai's body disagreed and the odd man absently wondered why _he_ wasn't getting an apology, despite becoming far more intimately familiar with the inside of a hospital wall than he had ever intended to be.

As if reading his thoughts, and since Gai was friends with numerous Yamanaka, he knew this to be a possibility, the aged voice of the Hokage spoke up.

"Perhaps, Gai-kun, the next time you enter a hospital room with a high-strung ANBU-Commander and the Hokage, you should enter though the door."

"Hai Hokage-Sama. Thank you for your youthful advice.", groaned Gai.

"You're welcome Gai-kun, you're welcome.", the Third said graciously.

Having extracted himself from the wall, Might Guy, jounin and taijustu expert, stood at attention in front of his leader.

"You called for me Hokage-sama?", the man said in a serious tone of voice, any previous levity forgotten now that he was receiving his orders.

"Indeed I did, Gai-kun. I have need of your taijustu expertise.", the Third nodded.

"I am at your command, Hokage-sama.", Gai said gravely.

The Third Hokage nodded once more, before mentioning for Salamander. The ANBU handed Guy a thick stack of papers, with 'CLASSIFIED' in bold red letters stamped on the front.

Gai quickly looked through them, before glancing at the Hokage with a confused expression.

"Medical files? I thought you requested my taijustu expertise, Hokage-sama?", the green clad jounin asked, even as he began reading the files more in-depth.

"They are related, I assure you Gai-kun. As you probably know, someone used unusually large amounts of chakra in the vicinity of the training fields of the Academy.", the Hokage answered.

Seeing Gai's affirmative nod, the aged shinobi continued.

"This individual has endured significant physical trauma as a result. I myself was present to witness the technique and its aftermath."

At this, Gai looked up from the files.

"Aftermath?"

The Hokage nodded.

"A small portion of the forest surrounding the Academy was completely flattened."

Shock was clearly visibly on Gai's face.

"Such a devastating technique… and in the vicinity of the Academy no less!"

The Hokage inclined his head in agreement.

"Indeed, luckily the Academy had already finished for the day, so nobody was hurt. Except for him."

Seeing the Hokage point to somewhere behind him, Gai turned around to look at the hospital bed. He had noticed the bed of course, he was a jounin after all, but the tackle of the ANBU had not allowed to note much more. Now he finally saw the occupant of the bed.

"Uzumaki-san?", Gai asked surprised.

Both Naruto's constitution as well as his stamina were already known amongst the shinobi forces. So to see the child lying asleep on the bed, extensively covered in bandages, was surprising.

"Indeed. He was the person who drew upon the large amounts of chakra you have felt and used it to destroy part of the forest.", the Professor said as he walked up to the bed, standing next to Gai.

"What kind of technique can a six year old use that would cause such destruction?", Gai muttered to himself, but his leader had heard him.

"It wasn't a technique."

Gai turned to the Third in surprise, seeing a smirk dance across the wizened face of the aged ninja.

"It was a punch."

Gai's notorious eyebrows reached up to touch the edge of his equally infamous bowl-cut.

"I can see why you asked for me then, Hokage-sama."

"Yes, I thought you would."

* * *

"Well, I have good and bad news for you Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen closed his eyes, trying to stave of the headache he could feel coming on.

' _Naruto, I love you like one of my own, but I swear upon Kami's wrinkly nut-sack that you have caused the majority of all the headaches I have ever had in my entire life. And I'm a veteran of three World Wars!'_ , the old leader thought grouchily to himself, before opening his eyes and motioning for Gai to continue.

"First the good news please."

"Very well Hokage-sama. The good news is that, based on your eyewitness account and the information in these medical files as well as my own investigation, I have come to the conclusion that Naruto-kun did _not_ use the Celestial Gates in order to fuel his punch."

Hiruzen internally sighed in relief. The opening of the Gates were perilous at best even for the most skilled of shinobi. There was a reason Gai was both known and feared across the Elemental Nations. For a child to mess around with them… the damage could have been horrendous.

"What Naruto did… it is more akin to the famous strength technique used by Tsunade-sama instead of the Celestial Gates. However, instead of immense control released at the most opportune moments during strikes to gain enormous strength, Naruto-kun used immense amounts of power to flood his body, overcoming the physical limitations of his body in much the same way most shinobi do when strengthening their bodies, but to a more extreme degree."

Hiruzen turned around to face Gai, a thoughtful frown on his face.

"That sounds remarkably like the technique of the Celestial Gates to me, Gai-kun."

Gai nodded.

"A common misconception, Hokage-sama, since it certainly appears so to the observer. However, the Celestial Gates work in a different way to what Naruto-kun did. When one uses the Celestial Gates, they release the limits our own body has put upon itself in order to function at a much higher degree. However, this is still the inherent physical strength of the body, not a chakra augmentation. It merely appears so, due to the release of one of the gates, and the subsequent flood of chakra. It is why intense physical training is required in order the use the Gates effectively, Hokage-sama. A hundred times zero remains zero."

Hiruzen nodded in understanding, his opinion of the odd jounin somewhat rising after finding out the reason for the man's ridiculous physical regime.

"However, what Naruto-kun did was not removing the limits his body has put on itself, but bypassing them with chakra. The result is the same; a body without its usual limits. However this brings me to the bad news Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen closed his eyes again, as he felt icy tendrils spreading from his gut. He had a feeling he already knew what Gai was about to say.

"Because the result is similar, the consequences to Naruto's body are as well. The damage he has suffered is similar to the opening of the Second or Third Gate, Hokage-sama. This is disregarding the state of his arm.", Gai said in a mournful voice.

"The damage is truly that high? How?", Hiruzen asked himself as he rubbed a hand against his aching forehead.

Gai had heard him though and explained.

"I think it's because of two reasons, Hokage-sama. The first is, that Naruto, for however a short amount of time, operated on a level far surpassing the limits of his body… while those limits were still in effect. On top of that is his young age and the fact that his body is unaccustomed against such immense stress."

Hiruzen gave a shaky sigh, before asking Gai the final, most important question.

"Will he recover?"

Silence was his answer, as Gai was deep in thought. The jounin obviously wanted to give his leader a positive answer, without instilling any false hope. Gai quickly gave up with a sigh though, before fixing Hiruzen with a mournful look.

"Had he been older, then yes. Even had he been but a mere fresh Genin, due to his Uzumaki blood and his… tenant, he would have eventually recovered. Had he been a Chunin or Jounin, he would have even eventually come out of this all the stronger for it. But now, with such a young, underdeveloped body… I am sorry, Hokage-sama, I truly am, but I fear Naruto-kun's growth may forever be stunted."

Hiruzen turned away from his jounin in order to gaze at Naruto's sleeping form. He felt his heart break for the small child. The stunted growth, along with the terrible damage to the boy's right arm, would make becoming a shinobi, let alone Hokage, nothing more than a dream for the energetic blonde.

"Thank you, Gai. You may le-"

Hiruzen was cut off when a dark, vile chakra began to cloud to room. And it originated from Naruto.

* * *

 _A few minutes previously_

* * *

Naruto's face was scrunched up in thought as his bright blue eyes stared ahead of him.

Two blood red eyes stared balefully back.

Finally the silence became too much and the Kyuubi snapped.

" **WELL?! OUT WITH IT THEN, MORTAL! YOUR INCECCANT STARING IS GETTING ON MY NERVES."** , the mighty fox snapped irritably.

Naruto blinked a few times in surprise, having lost most of his fear for the giant demon after getting bored out of his mind exploring the extremely impressive, yet ultimately very boring, room the two were stuck in.

"Where are we?"

Two giant eyes were fixed incredulously on the small ninja in training.

" **We have been here for many hours, yet you only think to ask that question now?"**

The fox snorted disdainfully. Not to be outdone, Naruto snorted as well, though not as impressively as the Kyuubi, since his snort didn't create a gale of wind.

"You aren't the most friendly looking fox around, ya know?", the blonde defended himself.

The Kyuubi rolled his eyes, before answering the small child's question, hoping it would keep Naruto from staring at it unblinkingly.

Seriously. It was starting to get creepy.

" **We are inside the seal that keeps me contained within you."**

"Ahhhh", Naruto nodded seriously, stroking his chin in a wide manner.

The Kyuubi sighed in relief, hopefully the child would now-

"THAT DOESN'T TELL ME ANYTHING, DATTEBAYO! WHAT THE HELL IS A SEAL? AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'INSIDE ME' HUH? Wait-", Naruto cut himself off, frantically patting down his own body.

"HOW DOES THAT EVEN FIT?!"

" **SILENCE YOU FOOL!"**

Naruto's mouth snapped shut with an audible 'click'. Giving a relieved sigh, the Kyuubi continued.

" **Perhaps I misspoke. We are not** _ **inside**_ **you. Not in the literal sense anyway. How to put this in a way even you understand?"** , the great beast mused, ignoring Naruto's spluttering, who once again had the feeling he was being insulted, yet not really understanding how.

" **Ah. Well, when I was…** _ **defeated**_ **, I was locked away in a special prison. The prison itself does not exist in your world, little one. Think of your world as a room with doors. We are currently not in the room but behind one of the doors. The seal which I mentioned is what allows you to come here."** _ **'And what allows my chakra into you, but you don't need to know that.'**_

Naruto's face scrunched up in thought, before giving a tentative nod. Satisfied, the Kyuubi continued.

" **Now when I said that I was contained within you, I meant that the door is in your hands. You are the one that closes and opens it.** _ **'And one day, you will open it completely… and I will be FREE!'**_

Naruto was silent for a few moments, for which the fox was thankful, before giving a decisive nod.

"Weird, but I get it. But _why_ are we here?", the young Uzumaki asked.

The Kyuubi growled in displeasure.

" _ **I**_ **am here because of the arrogance of you pitiful humans! Because of those damned Uchiha and their thrice damned cursed eyes! For close to a century, I have been sealed away, to never see the light of day, to never feel the wind or rain on my face again. Why am** _ **I**_ **here?"** , the fox spat.

The Kyuubi leaned forward, his nose almost pressing against the golden bars keeping him from devouring Naruto.

" **I can tell you that it is not by own will at least. And that I have deserved none of the years spent in here."** , the beast growled, malice dripping from every word.

Naruto gulped, before marshalling his courage and frowned.

"You've been locked up for a century? That's pretty bad. And it's even worse because you don't deserve it."

Naruto thought, not seeing the Kyuubi smirk malevolently. Before the creature could open his mouth in order to use Naruto's empathy in order to trick the child into releasing him, Naruto spoke again.

"You just wait Foxy-san! When I get out of here I'll tell what you told me to the Old Man, he'll be able to help you! He's the Hokage, he can do anything, dattebayo!", young Naruto said, giving the fox a thumbs-up and a massive grin.

The Kyuubi was stunned. This was NOT what he had expected.

Naruto didn't notice though, as he looked confusedly around the room he had spent a few hours exploring.

"Ehh, about that. How _do_ I get out of here? Why am I here in the first place?"

Had the Kyuubi been a lesser being, he would have face-palmed, dignity be damned. As it was, the great Kitsune simply sighed before answering.

" **The reason why you are here is the same as why you cannot leave this place. Not yet at least."**

"Huh, why not?"

" **Look at your arm, small one."**

Naruto looked at his unblemished arm, not understanding what the Kyuubi was getting at.

"Looks fine to me."

" **I should hope so. This is the representation of your mind. Should it be damaged, well,** _ **then**_ **I'd be worried if I were you. Now look in your reflection."**

Looking down at his feet which were submerged within the water flooding the room, Naruto checked out his reflection.

"I don't see anyth- WHOA!", Naruto shouted suddenly.

His reflection looked back at him, covered in small burns and cuts, and his right arm…

He hurriedly felt his arm and was reassured when he felt smooth, slightly damp skin. Still, the reflection bothered him.

"What-"

" **Your little… experiment, had some negative consequences. What you see in the reflection is the current state of your body. You will eventually heal, though the damage done to your body will preventing you from ever becoming a proper ninja."** , the Kyuubi intoned, each word heavy as the fall of a hammer.

Naruto sank to his knees, looking horrified at his mangled reflection.

"No…", he whispered fearfully to himself.

" **Unless…"**

Naruto's head whipped back up with such speed, it made his golden hair shake back and forth.

"Unless?", the blonde asked hopefully.

" **Unless you draw upon my chakra in order to heal yourself. My chakra is far more potent than yours, and while poisonous to regular humans, because you are my jailor, you will only benefit of it."**

Naruto jumped to his feet, ready to accept the demon's offer then and there, before a small whisper in the back of his mind held him back.

"Wait, why would you help me? What do you get out of this?", Naruto asked wearily.

" **Why the sudden suspiciousness, little one?"** , the Kyuubi asked lazily.

"Well, you _did_ say you were gonna deceive me. Right?"

A dark chuckle was his answer.

" **My, my, it learns."**

Naruto didn't relax his guarded stance, not rising to the taunt. The Kyuubi rolled his eyes before answering.

" **Because** _ **I**_ **want to go to sleep, and** _ **you**_ **are giving me a headache."**

"Bullshit.", Naruto said harshly, surprising the fox with his crude language. Then again, an orphan living on the streets was bound to pick up on a few more… unsavoury things here and there.

" **I do not lie, remember?"** , the Kyuubi grinned, enjoying the way Naruto's face became an interesting shade of red.

Heading of the tirade that was sure to come, the demon continued.

" **There is also the issue of you dying."**

That shut Naruto up immediately.

"Me? Dying!?"

The Kyuubi hummed in a bored manner.

" **This seal is different from the others that have held me prisoner. In this case, should your soul depart the plane of the living, then it would drag mine along with it. No reformation or rebirth for me, but true death, just like your pitiful race is doomed to. It's distasteful."** , the Kyuubi said with an irritated snarl.

"That doesn't really explain why you're helping me, Foxy-san.", Naruto said hesitantly.

Ignoring the ridiculous nickname, for now, the Kyuubi explained.

" **The stronger a ninja you are, the greater the chances of your survival and thus my own as well."** _ **'There's also the fact that you need to have a body that won't die when I try to free myself or I'll die as well. You can't have the strength I require of you if you remain a mere civilian.'**_

Naruto frowned before nodding.

"Right. Then I'll accept your help, Foxy-san. What do I need to do?"

" **Well. First, you need to…."**

The Kyuubi trailed off as one of his nine, massive tails wormed itself with great difficulty through the bars, the tip ending not far from Naruto's chest. The small blonde was getting nervous, but did his utmost in order to not let it show.

"… **. LEAVE!"**

The tip of the tail slammed into Naruto with enormous force, launching the screaming blonde into the darkness of the hallway.

* * *

 **AN:** Don't worry, the Kyuubi doesn't suddenly turn good after the first meeting with a six year old Naruto! It'll still plot and scheme and try to break free, but the foundation for non-hostility are being laid. Also, Naruto will not simply shrug off the revelation that he is the jailor of the Kyuubi. Right now, he's simply too young and tired to fully comprehend it. Kyuubi's intenionally innocent explanation of the situation doesn't help matters.

 **Fun Fact:** Naruto wasn't supposed to be a ninja. Kishimoto initially intended for Naruto to use a form of magic instead of ninjutsu. But he eventually thought that this would be too confusing and simply made Naruto a ninja. Talk about laziness paying off, huh?


	3. Confessions and Promises

**AN:** Wow. Just... Wow. You guys are awesome! :D The response to this story has been amazing! :D I honestly don't know what to say right now, so just let get on with the story shall we? :P

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Confessions and promises**

The moment Hiruzen felt the dark chakra burst from Naruto's body, he jumped back, closer to the windows of the room, automatically positioning himself in an easier position to escape. Even though he was nearing the ripe old age of seventy (an unusually high age for a shinobi indeed), his reflexes were still as sharp as ever.

He saw that Guy-kun had created some distance himself as well, falling into a taijutsu stance that Hiruzen only vaguely recognized, though he had no doubt that in the hands of a specialist like Guy-kun, it would be dangerous nonetheless.

Next to him, Salamander had fallen into a guarded stance as well, his tanto held out in front of his chest, a single hand resting on a hand seal, ready to unleash a myriad of jutsu at a moment's notice.

The actions of these three elite ninja might have seemed like overreacting, however, you would be hard-pressed to find a single Konoha ninja over six years old that wouldn't act the same way. After all, the moment they had felt the chakra, the three ninja had recognized it immediately.

One does not so easily forget the chakra of a demon of the Kyuubi's calibre after all.

Hidden beneath the wide sleeves of his ceremonial robes, Hiruzen had formed the hand seals needed for the summoning of his friend and battle-partner Enma, the Monkey King. He refrained from activating the technique though, not willing to call out the powerful summon if it turned out it was unnecessary.

' _By Kami above, I hope it is unnecessary.'_

The oppressive chakra began to cover Naruto's body in a bubbling red shroud, while increasing its vile presence in the rest of the room. Hiruzen heard Guy-kun's breathing hitch for a second, though outwardly the taijutsu specialist managed to keep an impressively unruffled appearance. Salamander though didn't even so much as twitch as the dark chakra pressed down on them.

As expected of his ANBU-Commander of course.

"Hokage-sama?", Guy-kun asked, voice not yet nervous, but steadily getting there as more and more chakra began to envelop Naruto, its corrupting nature visible in the way it ate away at the linens covering the boy.

" _Hokage-sama?_ ", Guy-kun asked again, more urgently this time.

"No! We wait!", Hiruzen replied in a harsh tone, eyes fixated on Naruto's right arm, which was steadily becoming more and more visible, as the Kyuubi's chakra began to eat away at the bandages covering it.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, what is it that we're waiting for?", Salamander asked, his nervousness only betrayed by the tenseness of his voice.

Slowly, Hiruzen let out a smirk.

"Look at Naruto-kun's arm, Salamander, Guy-kun."

Both ninja wearily approached the small child on the hospital bed, who was still leaking massive amounts of demonic chakra, even though the amount slowly started to die off. When they finally reached the foot end of Naruto's bed, Hiruzen's hearing managed to pick up Salamander's quiet "oh."

Guy-kun's reaction didn't require any superb hearing though.

"Yosh! How can this be! Hokage-sama, truly your Fountain of Youth is fanned by the most impressive of Youthful Flames! How did you know that this would happen?!", the eccentric Jounin bellowed enthusiastically, before turning towards Hiruzen with a thumbs-up and a grin which _literally_ sparkled.

Hiruzen blinked at the light glinting of his taijutsu expert's teeth.

" _That is some impressive Genjutsu. That, or he is the most vigorous teeth-brusher in the history of Man."_

Shaking of the random thought, Hiruzen focused on Guy-kun and Salamander, who had turned to look at his leader at well. The aged Hokage walked towards Naruto's bed until he was standing in-between the other two ninja. By now, the Kyuubi's chakra had almost completely disappeared, reduced to a thin film surrounding Naruto's skin. Now that he was standing closer to the blonde boy, Hiruzen could see that the three whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks had thickened considerably, while his fingers had developed claws. When the Hokage squinted, he could even see two fangs peeking out from under the child's upper lip.

He looked at Naruto's arm with a smile on his face.

"I _am_ called the Professor for a reason, you know.", Hiruzen said smugly, eyes not leaving his surrogate grandson's arm.

Surrounded by vile and demonic chakra, wrapped in smoking bandages that had been almost been eaten away, Naruto's arm was visible to the world.

And it had been healed.

* * *

Naruto came back to the world in stages. First came sound. The small child could hear several voices somewhere above and to the side of him. He couldn't really make out what was being said, but the voices all spoke in serious tones.

Then came touch. Naruto could feel a course fabric on his torso, while something soft was lying underneath his head.

' _A pillow?'_

He could feel that the fabric surrounding him had been damaged in large areas, as if it had been burned, making it feel uncomfortable against his skin. He could also feel several thin strips of fabric pressed closely to his body, though most felt even more damaged than the other fabrics.

' _Bandages?'_

Next, almost simultaneously, taste and smell came back to him. His mouth felt as if someone had attempted to shove the desert of Suna down his throat, and his nose picked up an acrid smell, like something vile had been burned away.

Then finally his vision returned to him, blurry at first. Above him, he could vaguely make out what appeared to be a light bulb. Naruto turned his head to his side, trying to take in the space he was in. It appeared to be a room of some kind, though he didn't recognize it.

Then again, at this point it the world simply consisted of black and grey blobs. For all he knew, he was just lying in his own bed.

' _Probably not. This pillow is way too nice for that.'_

Naruto let out a groan, something he regretted immediately when it felt like crushed glass tried to work its way back up his throat. Suddenly a large, grey blob was at his side, pressing something cool in his hands.

"Drink, Naruto. You're pretty dried up right now.", a kind, elderly voice said gently.

' _Jiji?'_ , Naruto thought tiredly, but he couldn't act on his thought, as clear water was brought to his lips.

Drinking greedily, relishing the soothing feeling the liquid had on his sore throat, the blond child emptied the glass within seconds. Naruto let out another pitiful groan; his throat had stopped aching, but he was still incredibly thirsty.

A chuckling was his answer, as the grey blob took away Naruto's empty glass, only to almost immediately replace it with a full one, which the boy accepted without hesitation.

"Careful Naruto. If you drink too fast, you'll just throw it up."

Naruto grimaced, but complied. His throat still hurt a little and he had no intention of making it worse.

"Do you remember what happened Naruto?"

Naruto paused his drinking, peering at the grey blob, his vision by now cleared enough to indentify it as being indeed the Hokage.

"I remember... The tree... And light... And a lot of pain.", Naruto croaked out, his memory slowly reassembling itself.

Old Man Hokage hummed in thought, stroking the small beard on his chin.

"Indeed. That is two days ago now, Naruto. Do you remember what happened afterwards? Do you remember how you came to be here?", the Third continued, fixing Naruto with a heavy stare.

Naruto looked around the room, trying to find out where exactly _here_ was. He didn't recognize the room itself, but he recognized it as belonging to Konoha's General Hospital. Looking back at his Jiji, Naruto shook his head.

The Old Man hummed again, before speaking up in his gravelly voice.

"When you called on your chakra and punched that tree, Naruto, you destroyed a large part of the forest."

Naruto's eyes lit up, an enormous grin stretching across his face.

"Wow! Really?!"

The Third lifted an imperious eyebrow as he levelled a flat stare at the child.

"Oh. Uhh... I mean... Oh no! That's horrible!", Naruto tried, giving his Old Man his most innocent look.

The Hokage simply snorted in amusement, before turning a little in order to face Naruto better. The child could tell that the mood had turned serious, and wiped his faux expression off his face, giving his Jiji his undivided attention. The Old Man looked very grave and serious as he looked Naruto straight in his eyes.

"By calling on so much of your chakra, and using it in such an unguarded manner, you really damaged your body Naruto. You were seriously hurt. There was a very real possibility that you could never become a ninja because of it.", the Hokage said in a pained voice, worry clear on his face.

Naruto winced. He still remembered the way he had looked in his reflection when he had been inside the seal. He had freaked out when he had seen the damage; he could easily imagine that his precious people had been even worse off.

"I'm sorry Jiji. I won't do it again.", Naruto said remorsefully.

And he meant it. He had felt so incredibly strong when he had called upon his chakra, and the Old Man had just confirmed that his technique had been incredibly powerful. If he could train it, he would become Hokage in no time, dattebayo!

But even then, if such a technique would hurt his precious people, then he wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. He cared more about them than the hat; it was just his ninja way.

Despite not being a ninja yet, but that was neither here nor there.

He was surprised when he heard the Old Man chuckling. He had expected a stern talking to, maybe a punishment of some sort, who knows, maybe even a tear-filled request to never do something stupid like that again.

There had definitely _not_ been any humorous chuckling involved in the young child's imagination.

"Naruto-kun, it warms my heart to see you deny the lure of power so easily, in favour of your precious people. No matter what the villagers may tell you, _you_ Naruto carry with you the Will of Fire.", the Old Man said, glowing pride almost visible in his voice, as he leaned forward to ruffle Naruto's golden hair.

Naruto looked down at his knees, trying to hide the tears that had sprung up in his eyes. For a shunned child like him, such proud words were more precious than all the money in the world.

However, as he looked down, he saw his arm.

Or more importantly, his _healed_ arm.

Lifting it in front of his face, Naruto couldn't contain a small "whoa!" of amazement.

Again the Third Hokage chuckled and opened his mouth to say something. He was cut off however, when Naruto chuckled as well.

"Guess the damned fox came through, after all.", Naruto said in amazement.

His attention was so intensely focused on his newly healed arm, he failed to see the Third Hokage tense up, a harsh look flashing across his face. For that matter, Naruto had yet to notice the presence of Konoha' Beautiful Green Beast in the room, who, like his Hokage, had immediately tensed up.

It would be several years until Naruto would be skilled enough to even notice a hidden ANBU-Commander, let alone an ANBU-Commander ready to leap into battle at any second, or the minutest hints of danger.

Completely oblivious to the commotion and well-concealed terror he had just caused, Naruto frowned.

"Maybe the fox was telling the truth about not lying after all.", the young child murmured to himself, unaware of the intense looks this gathered from the present ninja.

" "The Fox", Naruto?", the Old Man spoke up sternly.

Naruto perked up. He had been both scared and tired when he had woken up in the seal and met the Kyuubi, and because of that he hadn't completely understood everything the giant fox had told him. However, his Jiji was super smart; he would probably know what the demon was up to.

He was the Hokage after all, he knew everything about everything!

Turning to one of his most precious people, Naruto started babbling.

"Yeah, Jiji! After I punched that tree and everything went black, I woke up! But I didn't wake up here, I woke up in some giant room! And on one end of the room there were these really big golden bars, but I didn't know what they were for, until the fox started talking from behind the bars! Of course I didn't know it was the fox then, I just saw his eyes and his teeth, did you know that the Fox had really big eyes and teeth, Jiji! Like, really, really, really big! But I wasn't scared at all! He started talking, but I didn't like what he said so I went up to him and I said to him-"

"NARUTO."

The excitable blonde snapped his mouth shut with a audible click, a blush covering his face as he abashedly rubbed the nape of his neck.

"Sorry Jiji, I guess I got carried away there, huh?"

He saw his Old Man peering at him intensely, looking unusually stern, making Naruto feel uncomfortable. This continued for several moments, until Naruto's back became drenched in sweat. Then the Hokage smiled a gentle smile, and the aura of tension that had filled the room disappeared almost completely.

"No matter Naruto, no matter, I am just pleased that you remain your boisterous self.", the Hokage said warmly.

Naruto nodded, despite not really understanding what his Old Man meant by that. However, had he been in possession of more powerful observational skills, then he would have noticed both Might Guy and the ANBU-Commander Salamander relax noticeably, something in their Hokage's wording putting them at ease.

"Try to begin at the start Naruto, from the moment you woke up in the large room, until the moment you woke up here. And a little slower this time, perhaps?", the Third suggested gently, a smile still on his face.

Naruto nodded and started talking. The Hokage didn't interrupt him once, though Naruto could tell the aged ninja was taken by surprise several times during his tale.

It took the better part of an hour before Naruto was finished with his story, during which the Hokage kept silently handing him glasses of water. Now he was sitting upright in bed, sipping his seventh glass of water, his eyes going back and forth from the Hokage to a weirdly dressed man with truly humongous eyebrows.

He had noticed the man's presence while he had been talking about his experience in the seal, which had caused him to almost vault out of the bed and through the nearest window.

Seriously.

Ninja were ridiculously silent when they wished to be.

He was brought out of his musing when the Old Man cleared his throat. Naruto turned to the Hokage, preparing himself for any questions the aged ninja would probably have for him. After a few seconds spent in thoughtful silence, the Third started asking his questions.

"So, you are positive that the Kyuubi said that an Uchiha was responsible for the attack six years ago?", the Old Man asked.

Naruto furrowed his brow.

"If you mean if I'm sure or not, then yeah. He did say that. He was rather angry about it too. He kept cursing the Uchiha and their eyes. Kinda weird; I mean yeah, most of them are jerks, but I don't get why he kept on cursing their eyes and not the rest of them.", Naruto nodded firmly, not seeing the Hokage's lip twitch in amusement.

"A discussion for another day, perhaps. Naruto, do you think that the Kyuubi was telling the truth, when he told you that he didn't lie?", the Old Man continued, grey eyes boring in Naruto's blue ones.

Naruto thought long and hard about this, absentmindedly stroking his newly healed arm. Finally he gave a tentative nod.

"I think so. Whatever he says probably won't be the entire truth, but at least it won't be a lie.", Naruto said, managing to keep any hesitation out of his voice.

The Old Man simply hummed again and descended into deep thought. It was obvious his Jiji was thinking very hard about something, so Naruto started to examine the room, while waiting for the Hokage to finish thinking. His eyes eventually landed on the green clad ninja with the weird eyebrows.

Seeing that Naruto's eyes were focused on him, the weird ninja grinned, before giving Naruto a thumb-up, the light glinting of the man's teeth.

Naruto hurriedly looked straight ahead, hoping his Jiji would be finished with thinking soon.

As if the Old Man had heard his thoughts (who knew, maybe he did. They were ninja after all, there was probably a jutsu for that or something) the aged ninja shook himself before clearing his throat.

"In that case Naruto, please inform the Kyuubi that I will try to look into the matter. However, that being said, promise me that you will not try and meet with the demon, Naruto. While he may have decided not to lie to you, the Kyuubi is both old and wise, and it will probably try to trick you at every chance it gets.", the Third Hokage said seriously, fixing Naruto with a stare.

Naruto quickly nodded. The seal had been very boring and the fox had been very scary (at first at least) and Naruto had no intention of going back anytime soon.

"Now, we must decide what to do with you Naruto."

' _Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good.'_ , the small child thought to himself, his troublemaker senses going haywire.

"We cannot send you back to the Academy right now, Naruto. The Kyuubi's chakra has done an incredible job of healing the damage to your body, but it has still been put under incredible stress, both by your technique and the healing. On top of that, you suffer from mild chakra burns, which will make it impossible for you to work with your chakra for about a week.", the Hokage said sadly.

Naruto felt crushed. He needed the Academy in order to train and become stronger, so that he could become Hokage. Especially now that he had promised his Jiji that he wouldn't try his new technique anymore.

"Instead, you will apprentice under Jounin Might Guy here. Guy-kun is a famous taijutsu specialist and he will oversee your recovery. You will train under him in order to strengthen your body and gain a better control over your chakra. Then maybe next time, you don't blow _yourself_ up as well when you use your technique.", the Old Man chuckled.

Naruto gaped at his Jiji.

"Did you just... Really?!", the blond yelled excitedly.

"Really.", the Hokage chuckled.

"Your technique is truly impressive Naruto. Keep this up, and train safely under a teacher, and I expect to give this hat to you in no time at all.", the Old Man said with a smile on his face.

Naruto catapulted himself from the bed, slamming into the Hokage's chest, giving a crushing hug and burying his face in the aged ninja's chest, hiding his tears from the world. The Old Man's booming laughter filled the small hospital room, making Guy smile as well as he looked at the scene.

"You better prepare to give up the hat real soon Old Man, I'm gonna be Hokage before you know it, dattebayo!"

The Professor laughed again, ruffling his surrogate grandson's hair.

"I will hold you that Naruto. Now you better hurry along. Guy-kun is waiting for you, go with him, get to know each other. He will tell you what you're going to do for the rest of this year. Once he deems you ready, you can go back to the Academy.", the aged Hokage said warmly, gently untangling the young child from his robes.

"Sure thing Jiji! Come on, let's go Bushy-Brows Sensei!", Naruto yelled excitedly, jumping from his Jiji's lap and sprinting towards the door of his hospital room, leaving a bemused Might Guy in his wake.

Naruto paused however when he put his hand on the doorknob. He hadn't really considered it yet, due to being overwhelmed at the time, but now he recalled that the Kyuubi had said that he had been sealed inside of him. A demon was inside his body, maybe not in the literal sense, but the connection was still there. Biting his lip in uncertainty, the blonde turned back towards the Hokage, fear filling his eyes.

"Jiji... The villagers... Were they right? When they called me 'demon'?"

The elderly Hokage gave a deep sigh, before coming to his feet and walking towards Naruto. Bending down to one knee, so he could look the small boy in the eye, the Professor gave Naruto his most reassuring smile.

"Naruto, you are no demon. You have seen the Kyuubi, it is your prisoner, but it is not you. You are simply the jail that keeps us safe every single day. You're not a demon, Naruto; you are a hero.", the Hokage said firmly.

Naruto felt like an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulder, or like a shroud of darkness that he hadn't realized had been there had been removed. He felt lighter and happier than he could remember ever being in his entire short life.

"Thanks Jiji.", Naruto whispered, furiously wiping at his eyes.

"Anytime, Naruto. Anytime.", the Hokage said, his smile wrinkling the skin around his eyes and mouth.

"Now, off you go.", the Old Man said, opening the door and gently pushing Naruto through it.

Naruto nodded, before giving a grin that could rival the sun in intensity.

Maybe even rival that of Might Guy's.

Maybe.

"Let's go Bushy-Brows Sensei!", Naruto yelled, before dashing down the hallway, laughter and angry reprimands following in his wake.

The Hokage turned to his taijutsu specialist, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"I believe you are being called Guy-kun."

Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast blinked a few times in bewilderment, before giving a loud laugh and dashing after the blonde blur.

"YOSH! I SEE THAT YOUR FLAMES ARE ALREADY IMPRESSIVELY FANNED MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! TOGETHER, WE SHALL FAN THOSE FLAMES SO THAT YOUR FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH MAY BE EVERLASTING! YOSH!"

* * *

Hiruzen was still chuckling as he slowly walked towards his own residence, not far from the Konoha Hospital. As he was walking, a shadow disconnected itself from the ceiling and dropped down behind him. It straightened up, revealing itself to be the ANBU-Commander Salamander.

The Commander drew level with Hiruzen and they continued walking in silence towards the Hokage's home. While outwardly the Commander appeared unreadable, Hiruzen could tell that the ninja desperately wanted to ask some questions.

He wasn't disappointed.

"Hokage-sama, what do you wish to do with the information Uzumaki has provided us?"

Hiruzen didn't answer for a moment, his eyes clouded in thought.

"What makes you think I will do anything at all with the information, Salamander? It was given by the Kyuubi no Kitsune after all, not the most truthful intelligence source, I think you'll agree.", Hiruzen rumbled in his gravelly voice.

Another silence fell as the ANBU-Commander thought about this.

"Uzumaki was of the opinion that the Kyuubi was being truthful when it swore it would speak no lies."

Hiruzen smiled, as he fished his pipe from somewhere underneath his robes, lighting it with a simple _Katon_ (=Fire) jutsu.

"And you trust young Naruto's judgement in this?"

"Perhaps. Maybe it would be wise to ask a Yamanaka to accompany Uzumaki in a trip to the demon, so we may get a less... impressionable interpetation of the Kyuubi's words."

Hiruzen shook his head, puffing away on his pipe.

"I'm afraid that that is simply too dangerous Salamander. Naruto didn't meet the Kyuubi in his own mindscape, but instead sent his mental projection to the dimension the seal has created. A Yamanaka could technically "Hitch a ride" when Naruto's projection travels from his mind to the seal, but there's no guarantee of the Yamanaka being able to leave again. Powerful in the mind-arts they may be, dimension travellers they are not.", Hiruzen intoned gravely, already having thought of this long and hard.

"I see.", Salamander said curtly, before falling silent.

"In that case we have no other option but to trust Uzumaki's instinct. Regardless wether the demon was being truthful or not, the information provided is too grave to not look into, Hokage-sama, no matter the source.", the Commander continued.

Hiruzen sighed, blowing out a large cloud of smoke.

"I agree Salamander. As this information is now only shared between you, me and Guy-kun, I ask that you investigate this matter personally. Delegate all your other duties which not require immediate attention to those you see fit to handle them, then focus all of your efforts on unravelling the truth behin the demon's words. You will receive any manpower and security clearance you think you may need Salamander.", Hiruzen said softly, but firmly, hoping that he wasn't making a monumental decision.

"Hai Hokage-sama!", Salamander said crisply, snapping off a salute, even as they were still walking.

Hiruzen nodded in acknowledgement, before continuing on. He was surprised to find that Salamander remained at his side. Evidentely, the ANBU-Commander had something to get off his chest.

"Hokage-sama, about Guy-san-", Salamander began.

"If you are concerned about the fact that Guy-kun is privy to this information as well, then do not worry; he has my full confidence.", Hiruzen said reassuringly.

"It is not that Hokage-sama, I know Guy-san is loyal to Konoha and smart enough to keep the intel to himself. Rather...", the ANBU-Commander trailed off.

Hiruzen widened his eyes in surprise. It was not often an ANBU, let alone their Commander, couldn't find the words to say something.

"Speak, Salamander. I feel that troubled times are ahead of us, and I'd like for there to be no secrets between the two of us.", Hiruzen said invitingly, encouraging his Commander to speak his mind.

"Hokage-sama, forgive me, but is it... wise, to pair those two together?"

Hiruzen stopped walking and turned to his ANBU-Commander, his face set in a disapproving frown.

"We have already discussed this Salamander. At length I might add. Guy-kun is a world-renowned expert on the Celestial Gates, and as such is the ideal person to train Naruto, so that he may avoid being so injured in the future. Or perhaps you just happen to have such an expert hiding amongst my ANBU-forces? If so, let him come forth! I'll gladly evaluate his worth against that of Guy-kun.", Hiruzen said sternly, his voice brooking no argument.

Salamander immediately bowed his head, realizing he was testing his Hokage's patience.

"I understand Hokage-sama. Forgive me."

Hiruzen let his expression soften, even as began walking again. He could hear Salamander's footsteps, after a slight hesitation, fall in line with his again.

"Despite his appearance and personality, Might Guy is one of our most accomplished Jounin, Salamander. His Will of Fire burns as one of the brightest amongst the Konoha ninja, and his loyalty is absolute. Have no fear; I expect great things from Naruto under that man's guidance.", Hiruzen said, his tone assured and fond.

As they continued walking, the aged Sarutobi glanced towards the mountain wall lining one edge of the village. Or more importantly, he looked at the faces hewn out of the rock, staring imperiously out over their village. His gaze lingered on the final head, to the right of his own.

"Great things indeed."

* * *

 **AN:** I gotta go to work right about... now, I suppose, so no AN this time. I hope to see you in the next chapter, where Guy will start to prepare Naruto for ninja-life! :D

 **Fun Fact:** Sanji from One Piece was supposed to be named Naruto, due to his curly eyebrows. However, Naruto had been released around the same time as One Piece, so the author of One Piece changed his characters name to Sanji.


	4. Training, Youth, and Flying Lessons

**AN:** Hello and welcome everybody to the 4th chapter of Naruto and the OAT! In this chapter we see the start of the training of Naruto under Guy. Next chapter will continue with that with generous timeskip, ending just before Naruto is sent for the second time to the Academy. The chapter after that should deal with his second chapter and what he learns then.

Also, look forward to an update for MotC coming soon, either this week or the next, and an update for HI after that. I'll try to update my newest story A Chronicle of Worm somewhere along the way, and I'm happy to announce that my Bleach/Gintama crossover is now finally getting its butt into gear, so maybe I can get the first chapter out sometime during this month.

March is gonna be crazy! :D

Also, beware; capslock. Lots and lots of capslock.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – Training, Youth and flying lessons**

Naruto couldn't help but grin. In fact, he hadn't stopped grinning from the moment Jiji had given him permission to train his new technique. He had even assigned him a teacher! Sure, Bushy-Brow Sensei was more than just a little weird, what with his massive eyebrows and his weird hair. And while Naruto could admire the man's dedication to a single colour (Naruto was still trying to scavenge an outfit that consisted solely of the colour orange) he had to wonder about _what_ the man had chosen to wear.

A spandex jumpsuit?

Really?

Naruto shook his head, shaking of his musings about his teacher's wardrobe choices. He had more important matters to concern himself with after all.

He was going to _train!_

Actually train, not just mucking about by himself on some abandoned Academy training ground, trying to replicate what the teachers had thought in class that day.

Something that became noticeably more difficult when he didn't show up for class in the first place.

But today would be different! He had been forced to wait for about a week after being discharged from the hospital in order to heal from his chakra-burns and the lingering damage to his body, but today he had been finally cleared to start with training.

Today, a teacher would help him train his technique, and teach him about chakra and strengthening his body and... and... and, well, about other ninja stuff Naruto supposed.

He hadn't been in the Academy long enough (or often enough, for that matter) to really understand the full scope of what a ninja was capable of, and thus all the fields they needed to train in in order to become proficient in them.

Finally managing to control himself enough to stop bouncing in place, Naruto snapped to attention, trying to imitate the 'at ease' position that he saw other ninja fall into when around his Jiji. Focusing his attention, Naruto could tell by the man's amused smile he hadn't quite pulled it off.

He wanted to scowl at the man's smile; experience had skewed Naruto's perception of other people's expressions and social interactions, not helped by being so isolated himself.

In Naruto's young and somewhat stunted mind, a smile was almost always an indication of derision or condescension. The only exceptions to this were his Jiji and the nice people at Ichiraku's, and he knew those people close enough to be able to tell the difference.

He didn't know his impromptu sensei though.

Any suspicion from Naruto's side was waved off though, when the man crinkled his eyes and gave a grin which _literally_ sparkled. Bushy-Brow Sensei gave him a thumbs-up, standing in a dramatic pose as he did so.

"YOSH, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! IN THE YEAR THAT YOU WILL STUDY UNDER ME, WE SHALL ENDEVAOUR TO STRENGTHEN YOUR BODY SO THAT IT CAN HANDLE THE INFERNO THAT IS YOUR TRULY YOUTHFUL FLAMES OF CHAKRA! IF YOU STUDY HARD AND WORK EVEN HARDER, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT YOU CAN USE YOUR YOUTHFUL TECHNIQUE SAFELY BY THE END OF THE YEAR!"

Naruto blinked a couple times at his new sensei, who was still standing in his weird pose, absentmindedly rubbing his ear.

Bushy-Brow sensei had a set of lungs on him, if nothing else at least.

Seeing that his sensei had dropped out of his pose (finally) and was now staring at him in anticipation, Naruto realized he had yet to answer the man's loud boast.

Internally shrugging, Naruto decided to go for a 'if you can't beat them, join them' mentality, and snapped to attention, his left hand lifted to his temple.

"OSSU!"

"YOSH!"

* * *

Unknown to both sensei and student, a few blocks away, a certain Copy Cat Ninja felt a chill shudder down his spine. The silver-haired ninja warily checked his surroundings from behind his orange book, but saw nothing immediately threatening around him.

In fact, all seemed utterly peaceful and normal on this sunny day.

' _Then why did I just have a sense of doom filling me?'_ Sharingan no Kakashi thought to himself with another shudder.

* * *

"NOW THEN, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT, THE FIRST THING I WISH FOR YOU TO DO IS TO REPEAT WHAT YOU DID BEFORE YOU UNLEASHED YOUR YOUTHFUL ATTACK!", Bushy-Brow Sensei bellowed again, sparkling grin still on his face.

Naruto managed to hide his wince at the man's boisterous volume, before fully registering what the odd man had just said. Raising his hand as if he were still in the classroom at the Academy, Naruto waved it impatiently.

His sensei appeared confused at the action at first, before giving an amused nod.

Dropping his hand and again falling into an imitation of the 'at ease' form, Naruto spoke up as seriously as he could.

"But Bushy-Brow Sensei, isn't that dangerous? The last time I did that, I ended up in the Hospital for two whole days!"

His Sensei nodded a few times in contemplation, stroking his chin in a serious manner, adopting a thoughtful pose. Suddenly his hand whipped out at incredible speeds, finger pointing at Naruto, who let out an 'eep!' of surprise and fell over.

"FIRSTLY, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT, MY NAME IS _NOT_ BUSHY-BROW SENSEI."

Naruto worked himself to his feet, only to be bowled over again, as his sensei continued talking; now holding up a second finger.

"SECONDLY, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT, YOU WILL NOT ACTUALLY BE PREFORMING THE ATTACK! I SIMPLY WISH FOR YOU TO DO THE SAME THING YOU DID BEFORE YOU UNLEASHED YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH, AND THEN HOLD IT THERE!"

Naruto worked himself to his feet again, worry still clear on his face, but was startled out of his musings when he felt a large hand clamp down on his shoulder. Looking up, Naruto stared at the face of his sensei, who was now smiling without showing all of his teeth, his eyes crinkled in the same way his Jiji's would when the man was amused.

"Please do not worry yourself, Uzumaki-san. As long as you are my student, I swear that no undue harm shall befall you. You have my word for it.", the odd man said in a comforting tone of voice, completely serious.

Naruto felt himself reassured at the man's quiet words, and gave a determined nod. His sensei gave an approving one in return and took a few steps back, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Whenever you are ready, Uzumaki-san, please proceed."

Steeling himself, Naruto closed his eyes and spread his feet, falling in the same stance he had used when he had first connected with his chakra. Holding his hands up in the ram-seal, used for the focusing of chakra, Naruto tried to recall what he had done about a week ago.

He slowed his breathing easy enough, but once again, Naruto's mind couldn't empty itself properly.

(Though there were numerous people within Konoha that would claim this was because Naruto's mind was empty to begin with. Naruto disagreed.)

Naruto was acutely aware of his teacher watching him, and felt incredibly self-conscious. On top of that, his mind kept flashing back to the reflection of himself that he had seen when he had been inside the seal.

Which was also a sense of turmoil for the small child. While it had been incredibly reassuring to hear his Jiji think of him like a hero instead of a demon, it didn't ease the sting from the insults of the other villagers. In fact, they only hurt even more now; before, he had been able to reassure himself that the villagers had simply been mean and spiteful, their words only fuelled by, and based on, hate.

Apparently, they held at least a kernel of truth, no matter how ignorant of said truth the people were.

All of this, lead to a very troubled child, that simply couldn't get his mind to become clear and empty. His mounting frustration at his continued failures with the technique were certainly not helping in that regard.

Right as he was about to give up, he heard the reassuring voice of his teacher, who was still speaking in his soft, gentle tone of voice.

"Feel free to take your time, Uzumaki-san. Connecting with your chakra is a very difficult task to accomplish, but the more you do it, the easier it will become. For now, clear your thoughts; if you find this to be difficult, then focus instead on something soothing, like your breathing."

Taking his teacher's advice to heart, Naruto tried to stop letting his thoughts and doubts run rampant, firmly shoving them to the back of his mind, ignoring them for now. Instead, he focused on his breathing, trying to give it his entire attention.

' _Breathe in.'_

' _Breathe out.'_

' _Breathe in.'_

' _And out'_

' _In.'_

' _Out.'_

And so it continued. Slowly, the various thoughts and doubts that had been gnawing at Naruto's consciousness started to fade away, his mind clearing. Then the outside world started to fall away; the rustling of the leaves, the feel of wind on his face, the gaze of his teacher on his form.

' _In.'_

' _Out.'_

As the outside world ceased to exist, and his mind became empty of all thought, Naruto finally achieved the mental state required to interact with one's chakra.

 _'In.'_

 _'Out.'_

Immediately he felt that something was different.

The first time he had tried to connect to his chakra, he had 'fallen' away from his own body, coming upon his chakra that appeared to him like a sun. When he had returned to his body, the light of his chakra had followed him, coursing wildly through the passageways in his body.

And, apparently, it hadn't left.

Instead of 'falling' away from his body towards the light, Naruto felt its familiar warmth storm throughout his chakra system, a light that raced throughout his very being.

Focusing on the torrents of chakra, Naruto felt a secondary source of light, sporadically entering his system, before being assimilated in his own chakra.

' _The Kyuubi?'_

It made sense in a way. Whereas Naruto's own chakra felt like a sun, bright and life-giving, the other chakra was like a different kind of sun, scorching and baleful.

' _Matches his personality, at least.'_ Naruto snorted mentally.

He couldn't tell for certain, but he thought he got a faint sense of annoyance from the back of his mind.

Ignoring it for now, Naruto focused again on his own light. He started to urge it to go faster through his veins, to draw more from the central 'core' of light that shone from somewhere around his belly. Slowly, the amount of chakra coursing through his body started to increase, carefully at first, but growing wilder every second.

Naruto didn't know it, but he was once again surrounded by a shroud of energy, swirling around him like a maelstrom, digging deep grooves in the ground.

"Thank you Uzumaki-san, that's quite enough. Please try to keep it at this level." Suddenly came the voice of Bushy-Brow Sensei.

"I can draw on more!" Naruto quickly said, not wanting to give a weak impression to his teacher.

"Really?" came the surprised reply.

Naruto couldn't see it, but Might Guy had an impressed look on his face. The Jounin thought carefully for a moment, before shaking his head.

"While that is certainly impressive, it would be better to keep it to this level for now. You are after all only recently healed from severe chakra-burns, and if you were to draw on more, it might impede with my own observations of how your technique works."

Naruto was somewhat disappointed he couldn't really cut loose, but his teacher made sense. So he stopped drawing on more chakra and instead tried to keep the chakra he had called upon from returning to his core.

"Good, very good, Naruto-kun. Now, please prepare to throw a punch like the one you had thrown when you first experimented with this technique, but do not throw the punch itself. If you feel as if you cannot contain it anymore, please try to simply let the chakra naturally recede. If this fails, please alert me, and I will make sure you do not injure yourself."

Naruto was briefly apprehensive about preparing to throw a punch again; after all, the last one had left him in a pretty bad shape. He quickly shoved it to the side though. This time, he had a teacher to help him and keep him safe, so there was nothing to fear.

On top of that, how was he ever going to become Hokage when he was too scared to even use his own techniques?

A determined frown on his face, Naruto cocked back his fist, keeping it close to his body. He started to slowly guide the chakra running through his body to pool into his fist, slowly increasing the amount in a controlled manner.

After all, teacher or no, a little caution never hurt anybody.

Because he still had his eyes closed Naruto didn't see the effect his efforts had on his clenched fist; like before, it was encased in a swirling cloak of chakra, far denser than the one surrounding the rest of his body, appearing almost as a physical construct that obscured his fist in swirling blue.

Guy, however, paying close attention to his student, _did_ see the results of Naruto's efforts and barely contained a gasp.

' _That…! That is almost like the Fourth's Technique!'_

Guy was shaken from his revelation by a grunt from Naruto. The boy had his face scrounged up in determination, his teeth clenched in the effort to contain his power.

"S-Sensei. I don't think I can control anymore chakra." Naruto ground out between his teeth, sweat pouring down his face.

"Then do not call upon further amounts of chakra, Naruto. Simply try to maintain the amount you have now gathered in your fist. Remember, try not to throw a punch yet, and should you lose control, give me a warning."

Naruto gave a curt not, before starting to tone down the amount of chakra he had been pulling towards his fist. It proved to be more difficult than he had originally thought it would be. The chakra system circulated chakra throughout the body, much like the blood vessels do with blood. This meant that fully cutting off the flow of chakra to a specific part of the body was not only nearly impossible, it could have dire consequences.

More importantly to Naruto, however, this meant that his chakra system kept circulating chakra towards his fist, where it was being added to the amount already gathered. He could feel his control slowly slip with each heartbeat.

"Sensei! I can't control it anymore!" Naruto yelled, panic slowly creeping into his voice.

Guy-sensei remained calm though, his tone steady and controlled, calming Naruto down somewhat.

"No need to worry Naruto-kun. Simply try to let go of the chakra you have gathered, letting it flow naturally into the rest of your system."

Giving a hurried nod, Naruto tried to take a deep breath, taking care to not let all of the gathered energy dissipate too fast.

He had a feeling that would end badly.

However, as he started to lose his hold on the chakra pooled into his fist, Naruto encountered a significant problem.

The chakra wouldn't leave.

Instead, the more Naruto loosened his hold on it, the wilder it became, making containing it increasingly difficult. On the outside, this manifested itself in a destabilizing of the whirlpool of blue surrounding Naruto's fist.

Might Guy took notice of this with a worried frown.

"Sensei?!" Naruto asked, unable to keep the building panic from his voice.

He had felt something similar to this when his Jiji had arrived when he had experimented with his chakra the first time around; the uncontrollable chakra, not willing to stand down, violently churning within his body, searching for an explosive release.

Unbidden, his mangled reflection returned to the forefront of his mind's eye, and Naruto barely managed to keep himself from a full-out panic attack.

"SENSEI?!"

" _ **CONTROL YOURSELF SMALL ONE!"**_

' _Kyuubi?'_

Naruto was so surprised by the thunderous voice of the demon contained within the seal inscribed on his stomach, he simply forgot to panic.

" _ **Indeed."**_ Came the dry response.

" _ **Cease your panicking small one, it will do you no good."**_

' _Well, what else am I supposed to do then?! In case you haven't noticed, my chakra won't listen to me anymore!"_

" _ **Take care of the tone you take with me, little one."**_ the Kyuubi growled dangerously low, making Naruto involuntarily gulp in apprehension.

" _ **Now, your chakra obviously doesn't wish to simply dissipate, and losing your hold on it will simply cause it to behave out of control. So, instead of lamenting what your chakra**_ **won't** **do,** _ **try to work with what you**_ **do** _**have."**_

The knowledge that the fox had a plan calmed Naruto down somewhat, and he felt his panic slowly ebb away.

' _So, what_ do _I have?'_

He could almost _feel_ the demon fox roll his eyes.

" _ **You have a powerful attack, and a very accomplished teacher. Contain your chakra, bring it under your control once more, and tell your Sensei that whatever he has prepared for you to keep you from being injured from your own attack, he should implement it now."**_

Naruto internally nodded, somehow having a feeling that the Kyuubi 'saw' the gesture.

' _Thanks Foxy-san!'_ Naruto mentally yelled, once again somehow feeling the Tailed Beast give an eye roll.

* * *

While this was happening, Might Guy had been regarding his student warily. The child had obviously panicked at the loss of control over his chakra, after failing to let it dissipate, calling out to him in fear.

However, just as Guy prepared himself to step in, Naruto had fallen silent, gaining a confused look on his face, and tilted his head, as if he were listening to something. The fear turned into confusion, and then turned into determination, Naruto sometimes giving a few nods to something Guy couldn't hear.

It felt as if he were watching only one end of a conversation.

And he had a sinking suspicion on who was on the other end of it.

' _Apparently, the demon is capable of communication with Naruto-kun. The Hokage should be made aware of this as soon as possible.'_

He was distracted from his musings by Naruto opening his eyes. Normally a bright, ocean blue, they now glowed with an inner power, making for quite an impressive sight, despite his student's young age. The child's face was still marred by apprehension, but the fear from before was now absent, instead having been replaced with remarkable determination.

"Sensei, I can't dissipate the chakra I have gathered. I'm going to have release it into a punch. Please prepare whatever technique you have that will keep me from harm." The boy said in the most serious voice he could manage, though Guy still heard the small tremor the blonde tried to hide.

He gave a grim smile, hoping it would reassure his student.

"I am ready, Naruto-kun. Whenever you feel ready, please continue."

Getting a nod from the child, he slid into his own stance, a slight variation to the standard Goken.

* * *

Naruto nodded back to his teacher, before cocking back his fist again. The clearing he and his sensei were standing on had no obstacles that Naruto could focus on, so he simply decided to punch forwards and hope for the best.

Letting out a yell, Naruto shot his fist out, the power behind the attack making Naruto streak forwards as well, upturning the ground underneath his feet. He almost feared that he would have a repeat of his first experiment as he approached the trees lining the clearing.

And these were all trees of the great Hashirama variant, big and thick, a far cry from the spindly sapling Naruto had collided with during his first attempt. Fear threatened to overwhelm him as his fist edged ever closer to the bark of the tree.

However, before he could make contact with the rough wood, his fist impacted something soft. A brief flash of green, let him know that his sensei had caught his punch.

' _Wow! Sensei is really strong!'_ Naruto thought in awe, before his thought was cut off by pain starting to bloom in his arm and shoulder.

Time slowed to a crawl, allowing Naruto to see what the problem was; despite the power of his attack, his sensei remained unmoving, not giving even an inch. However, this meant that Naruto, who still had enormous forwards momentum, started to flatten his own arm.

Much like a wild cart would smash itself apart when it slammed into a wall.

However, it appeared that his sensei had come to the conclusion even before Naruto did. As time slowly started to speed up again, Naruto saw his sensei shift his grip, his arm moving backwards with Naruto's forwards momentum, his hand shifting its grip from Naruto's fist to his wrist.

Turning on his own axis, Bushy-Brow sensei pulled Naruto around, redirecting his momentum away from the tree. Now with his back towards the trees, Naruto almost let out a laugh; his sensei had done as promised and saved him from going 'splat' against one of the trees.

His laugh was cut off before it even had a chance to properly form, as now Naruto faced the clearing.

While still having a lot of kinetic energy, which had yet to dissipate.

And the ground looked rather uncomfortably hard.

Before Naruto could give voice to his fears though, his sensei shifted his stance once more. Before he had pulled Naruto level across his chest. Now he let the arm holding Naruto trail behind silently, while dipping it slightly downwards.

Meanwhile, Bushy-Brows sensei other arm extended to point straight up to the sky, even as he twisted his torso slightly. Naruto was briefly reminded of a ninja throwing something as far as possible…

… Before realising that his sensei _was standing in the exact same position!_

"Sensei?! SENSEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIII!"

Anything further Naruto would have like to have yelled was cut off though, as with a mighty heave, Bushy-Brows sensei _threw_ Naruto high into the sky.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Naruto was completely unashamed to admit he was yelling like a little girl, while he sailed upwards through the sky, Konoha slowly becoming smaller below him. He dimly registered the Kyuubi swearing up an impressive storm in the back of his mind, but any thoughts he could have had about that was cut-off by the sheer terror that gripped him when he realized Konoha started to get bigger again.

He was falling back down.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

Meanwhile, unknown to Naruto, several Nara who had been engrossed with the time-honoured clan tradition of cloud watching, blinked their eyes in surprise; something orange was sailing through the sky.

And it was _screaming_.

Almost simultaneously, many of the Nara chalked it up to having lain in the sun for too long and to the shock of the rest of the village and their families, got up to continue with their ninja duties.

* * *

As that was happening, high up in his office, looking out over the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed to himself in contentment. The weather was great, and Naruto was finally cleared for training, which meant that Hiruzen at last had a moment of peace after a full week of being hounded by the hyperactive blond.

He had felt the massive amounts of chakra Naruto had called upon, naturally, and with a smile on his face turned towards that direction…

… only to see something orange fall down from the sky.

Slowly, a tick-mark started to form on his head, as his office was drowned in his potent Killing Intent, making his secretary outside break out in cold sweat.

Turning around, intent of making his way towards Naruto's training ground, Hiruzen saw that Salamander had already assembled the Hokage's personal bodyguard. The man's mask and crisp posture didn't betray anything.

As Hiruzen stalked past, his robes snapping around him, he ground out "Not. A. Word."

His Commander dipped his head.

"Of course Hokage-sama."

The amusement in the ninja's voice could not be concealed.

* * *

During all this, Hatake Kakashi, who had steadily felt a growing sense of doom travel down his spine, was now holed up in his apartment, kunai ready in his hand. His paranoid mind had begun to fray at the edges as his nerves remained strung on high alert during the day.

Ready for anything, Kakashi carefully moved over towards one of the windows looking out over Konoha, gently pushing away the blinds in order to look outside.

And saw something orange fall down from the sky.

Suddenly, the sense of dread that had followed him around all day increased exponentially.

* * *

Back with Naruto, the boy was still yelling his head off, only pausing to take short gasps of much needed air, before continuing to give voice to his fear.

By now, he had descended low enough that he could make out the ground of the clearing.

Which was rapidly getting closer.

' _Foxy-san, I just want you to know, I had really hoped we could become friends sometime down the line.'_ Naruto thought dejectedly.

" _ **I know little one. I appreciate it. Maybe we**_ **could** _ **have become friends."**_ The Kyuubi answered gravely.

Naruto closed his eyes, prepared to meet the cold, unforgiving ground, and ready to go to the next life.

' _Who knows, maybe they have an Ichiraku's there too?'_

The ground got closer still, the wind whipping around Naruto's body, and he could almost _feel_ how he was about to smash into the ground-

"YOSH! HAVE NO FEAR, MY STUDENT! I SHALL NOT LET YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH DIE OUT SO EASILY, HA HA HA!"

-only to be tackled by something solid. With an 'oomph!', Naruto felt strong arms catch him by the middle, his downwards momentum turned into a much lower, sideways one.

Naruto and his saviour skidded onto the ground, leaving a deep trench behind them. Naruto was carefully lowered to the ground, on which he thankfully splayed himself out, laying spread-eagled on his back looking up at the sky he had just descended from.

"WELL, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT? HOW DO YOU FEEL?"

Tiredly turning his head, Naruto looked at his sensei, who was standing next to him, wearing his signature sparkling grin. Completely whiped out by his training and the experience of falling from high up in the sky, Naruto simply blurted out the first thing his mind could come up with.

"You threw me."

Guy-sensei nodded, giving him a thumbs-up.

"INDEED. AND THEN I CAUGHT YOU."

Naruto stared at his teacher dumbfoundedly, before giving a groan and closing his eyes once more.

" _ **I do not like that man."**_ The Kyuubi groused from within Naruto's mind.

For once, he and the fox were in perfect agreement.

* * *

The next day saw Naruto and his sensei on the same training ground. Naruto stared dubiously and somewhat warily at his teacher.

Who looked like crap.

"Uhh, sensei? What the hell happened to you?"

His teacher tried to give him one of his sparkling grins, but couldn't quite pull it off due to the black eye and the split lip.

"Ah, my useful student. It would appear that both the Hokage and my Eternal Rival Hatake Kakashi… _disagreed_ with my teaching methods."

His teacher's raspy voice thankfully kept him from using his more… boisterous volume, but Naruto couldn't help but feel somewhat concerned for the man.

Absolutely crazy or not, the man was still dedicated to teaching Naruto, which earned him some concern at least.

"But are you alright?" Naruto asked tentatively.

Something he had said must have hit his teacher deeply, because suddenly the man was _right_ _there_ , shaking Naruto by the shoulders, a waterfall of tears flowing from his eyes.

"AH MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! THE CONCERN FOR YOUR TEACHER'S HEALTH FUELS MY FLAMES TO UNKOWN HEIGHTS! I SWEAR I WILL INCREASE YOUR FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH SO MUCH THAT IT MAY RIVAL THE GREATNESS OF YOUR HEART! AND IF I CANNOT DO THAT, I WILL RUN AROUND KONOHA 300 TIMES ON MY HANDS!"

Naruto was a little taken aback by the man's odd behaviour and loud voice, but couldn't help but become enthusiastic himself. This man was gonna make him strong, dattebayo! He made a promise, and to Naruto, a promise was more binding than any contract that could be written down on paper.

"OSSU! How do we start!?"

Drawing himself to his full height, on hand on his hip, the other raising a finger to the sky, Bushy-Brow sensei looked at Naruto with flames of determination in his eyes.

"IN ORDER TO FAN YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH TO AN INFERNO…!"

"Yeah?!"

"IN ORDER TO BECOME THE STRONGEST THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY BE…!"

"YEAH?!"

"WE SHALL START YOUR GRUELLING, BUT ULTIMATELY WORTH IT, TRAINING REGIME WITH…!"

"COME ON JUST TELL ME ALREADY!"

"Push-ups."

….

"NAAAANIIIII?!"

* * *

 **AN:** Nothing much to say here, except that Guy-sensei is probably on of my favorite anime characters in anime history? Who is numer two, you ask? Lee-kun of course :)

 **Fun Fact:** The reason the ninjas all wear protective headbands is because Naruto originally wore goggles (he still does in the first episode), but Kishimoto thought it took too long to draw the goggles, so he replaced them with the forehead protector.


	5. Omake 1 - History Lessons

**AN:** Hello everybody, I'm back to writing again! Hopefully I'll get some more updates out this month, we'll just have to wait and see, I suppose. The idea for this one struck me at around 11pm, forcing me to write it out immediatly or completely forget it. Which means that I was up till almost 2 AM, sitting bleary eyed behind my laptop. It was supposed to be a short little omake, but it just kept on growin into a real chapter, so concider it a sort of omake, a little treat from me to you ^^

Sidenote though, this isn't part of the same universe as the rest of the story, so don't worry too much about it. Maybe, as I write more of these, it might develop into it's own little story :)

* * *

 **(Sort of) Omake 1**

 **History Lessons**

It was a sunny day as Naruto and his classmates were training in the yard of the Academy, under the watchful eye of their sensei, Umino Iruka.

While the rest of the children were running laps, preforming kata's or endlessly repeating jumping-jacks, Naruto was deep in focus. He was feeling for his chakra, the warmth storming through his veins, trying to wrestle it under his control.

Slowly, o so terribly slowly, the by now familiar shroud was starting to form around Naruto's body, it's swirling motions an homage to the boy's clan.

As the blue glow started to grow brighter, it began to draw the attention of his classmates and his sensei. The other children stopped their exercises, gaping at the amount of chakra the blond was calling upon. Iruka started to approach his student hurriedly, fearing for what might happen to the boy should the swirling chakra prove to be beyond the Uzumaki's control.

Again.

Before he reached him however, Naruto gained a confident smirk, opened his now glowing eyes, and lifted his right arm parallel to his shoulder. Briefly Iruka wondered what the prankster was up to, when his question was answered by the sudden increase of the cloud surrounding the boy's arm.

Instead of swirling around it with a little over an inch of thickness, it explosively expanded, forming a swirling cocoon of a little over a foot in diameter, roughly resembling Naruto's arm.

With a yell that shook the earth, the blond raised his arm over his head, before slamming it down into the ground with an even greater shock, completely shattering the ground beneath him.

Both Iruka and Naruto were blasted of their feet, Iruka managing to right himself at the last moment though, while Naruto was a little more unfortunate.

Flying end over teakettle, Naruto ended up looking at the cloud free sky, wondering just how he got in that position.

Within moments however, the sky was replaced by the furious face of Umino Iruka, baring down upon him in righteous fury.

"He he he… hey there sensei." Naruto hesitantly ventured.

"NARUTO!"

Naruto could tell he had made his sensei angrier than usual.

The throbbing veins in the man's forehead were a big clue.

Being pushed a little further into the ground solely by the man's voice was also pretty enlightening.

"WHAT, IN THE NAME OF KAMI'S HAIRY BALLSACK, WAS _THAT_!?"

Filing away the expletive for later (it was a pretty good one, especially since it came from the normally prudish Iruka-sensei) Naruto went for his most innocent look.

Judging by the way his teacher's face started to become more and more red, it wasn't working really well.

"I didn't mean to! I just thought that putting more chakra would make the shroud bigger! It would let me punch harder! The Akimichi do it!" Naruto yelled in desperation.

Choji, who, like the rest of the class, had been able to hear every word of the conversation, quickly paled and hid his face in his chips bag, not willing to face the wrath of his sensei.

None really blamed him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Iruka had been steadily reaching a boiling point.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA JUST HOW DANGEROUS THAT WAS?! YOU WERE BASICALLY TURNING YOUR OWN BODY INTO A VERSION OF _HIRAMEKAREI_!"

Instead of showing understanding, sympathy or even horror at his own actions, Naruto's face simply scrunched up in confusion.

"Hirome-whatnow?"

For a moment, Iruka blew up his cheeks, his fingers twitching with murderous intent. He closed his eyes and started counting to ten. Then started counting backwards. Then started reciting all the old cryptology codes that he had learned during his days as an Academy student.

Finally, he slowly released an enormous breath through pursed lips, slightly ruffling Naruto's hair in the process.

Keeping his eyes closed, Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the rough skin of the scar that ran horizontally across it under his fingertips.

" _Hiramekarei_. One of the Seven Swords of the Mist, used by the Seven Swordsmen."

Unseen to him, Naruto's eyes lit up.

"The Seven Swordsmen? Who were they? Were they strong? They sound strong."

Iruka sighed, opening his eyes in order to offer a sharp rebuke, but was stopped when he saw that every eye of every student was fixed intently on him, curiosity clearly visible in all of them.

Slowly, he started answering Naruto's question, warily keeping an eye on the alertness of his students, on the lookout for the tell-tale signs of boredom, now a trademark of every history lesson he had ever given.

"Yes, the Seven Swordsmen were strong. _Very_ strong in fact; their first instalment can be considered to be on par with our own Sannin, in terms of fame and abilities. Following generations were not as powerful, but are still considered the elite forces of Kiri, much like the Kinkaku Squad is to Kumo."

Surreptitiously he checked all the other students, checking for any signs of inattention.

He was shocked to his core; not a single one of the wasn't paying attention, all of them listening intently to his story.

"Really! That sounds awesome! Were the Ginkaku Squad really strong as well?"

" _Kinkaku_ , and yes, they were." Iruka distractedly replied to Naruto's question, his mind running faster than the speediest of courier ninja (which was _very_ speedy indeed).

' _I can't believe it! They're actually paying attention! I need to capitalize on this, but how?'_ Iruka furiously thought to himself, glancing around the gathered students, before his eyes landed on Naruto.

Who was still staring expectantly at him, obviously waiting for the rest of the story.

As a plan started forming in his head, Iruka grinned at the gathered students.

"In fact, the Kinkaku Squad was so strong, they were instrumental in the Hokage being elected to be the Sandaime."

As expected, the mention of their current Hokage immediately gripped Naruto's undivided attention, always eager to learn more about his grandfather-figure.

"REALLY?!"

Iruka's grin widened, as he leaned down so he could look his students in the eye. He nodded and whispered in his most conspiratorial voice; "Really, really. Want me to tell you how? It's a story filled with a lot of adventure and great danger."

In unison, the entire class yelled out; "HAI SENSEI!"

"Let's go back inside." Iruka smirked.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the largest office of the Hokage tower, the Hokage himself was staring forlornly at a little orange book. He had, somehow, managed to finish all of his paperwork for once, and having nothing on his schedule for the next half hour or so, had greatly anticipated reading his student's greatest legacy.

Unfortunately, just when he cracked open the vibrant orange cover, his senses picked up an enormous chakra spike from the adjacent training grounds of the Academy.

Well, that, and his hearing had also picked up an enormous _'boom!'_ that had rattled his windows.

In a frustrated tone, rubbing a head against his aching forehead, Hiruzen growled the name of his tormentor through clenched teeth.

"Naruto. Why has it _always_ got to be you? Why?"

With a look of great emotional pain, Hiruzen gently placed the amazing piece of high standing literature back in its secret compartment within his desk, already knowing that he would be pestered by one of the most annoying (and useful) ninja his village employed.

Right on cue, Shimura Danzo, Hiruzen's ex-teammate, sometimes friend, mostly rival, and all around unpleasant person, shuffled into the Hokage's office.

"Hiruzen." _'I should be in that chair.'_

"Danzo." _'Not even if the Sage of the Six Paths himself would give it to you.'_

Standard pleasantries out of the way, Danzo immediately came down to business; both of them knew why he was there anyway.

"Today's chakra spike at the Academy once more proves my point, Hiruzen; the weapon is both too powerful and too unmanaged to be safely put with his classmates. Who, I don't have to remind you Hiruzen, are all heirs of prominent clans."

"And yet you remind me anyways." Hiruzen coolly replied.

Only a slight twitch by the man's uncovered eyebrow showed that Danzo conceded this verbal spar to his rival.

Not giving his enemy the chance to press on, Hiruzen continued.

"Before you make any further claims or demands Danzo, perhaps we should examine the situation at the Academy? It would be unadvisable to make decisions on a situation one doesn't fully understand, after all." The aged Hokage said, his voice hard as steel.

The corners of Danzo's mouth drew slightly downwards at the dig at his many, more radical, decisions in the past, which had had long-lasting consequences, almost all of them affecting Konoha in a negative way.

Inclining his head by the smallest of margins, Danzo conceded.

"Very well, lead on."

"I intend to. For a very long time, in fact."

* * *

The walk to the Academy had been blissfully short, what with it being located directly next to the Hokage tower, but Hiruzen still felt wrung out at the end of it.

Every step of the way had been a chain of verbal battles between him and his old friend, and to his shame (or Danzo's credit) the aged Hokage couldn't say that he had won all of them.

Walking a few paces behind them, Hiruzen could feel the silent support of Salamander, which heartened him greatly, even if the ANBU-Commander couldn't speak up against the advisor, who, in the underhanded, unofficial way of all ninja, somehow outranked him, despite not holding a military position.

Ignoring the star-struck gazes of several teachers he passed in the hallways, Hiruzen steadily approached Naruto's classroom. The teacher was Umino Iruka, a promising young Chunin, whose obvious love for teaching and Naruto had greatly endeared him to his Hokage.

Obviously, the scarred teacher's file had passed Danzo's desk as well, despite this being highly illegal, as the man commented upon seeing the little sign proclaiming this room to be Iruka's.

"Ah, Umino-san should be able to provide us with an accurate account of events, I should think."

"I _know_ so, Danzo, because that's the very reason we came here." Hiruzen snapped back, immediately cursing his temper inside his head; had that been said in a level, condescending tone of voice, that would have been a point for him.

But being said in the way it was, it could be considered more of a tie.

Danzo obviously was aware of this fact, judging by the small, if not enormously smug, smirk his advisor sent at him.

Growling under his breath, Hiruzen slammed open the door, far too irritated to bother knocking-

"- And so he said, in a great, booming, thunderous voice; 'Let them come! Let them come and I shall face them! With kunai, with jutsu and with the fire that burns in all of our hearts!"

-before feeling his jaw fall open.

Standing with one foot on his chair, the other planted firmly on his desk, Umino Iruka struck a heroic pose. In one hand, he had a kunai, now raised to the sky, and the headband the usually rested on his forehead was now drawn over his left eye, much like Kakashi wore it. His face was set into a thunderous expression of implacable heroism, and as Hiruzen took in the students in the class, he noticed that more than one of them had tears streaming down their faces.

"Our seals remain strong and our arms stronger still! It doesn't matter that we are outnumbered! It doesn't matter that we now face, not one, not two, but _three_ major villages! Do you know why!? BECAUSE BY THE SAGE'S WRINKLY BEARD, WE. ARE. _UZUMAKI!_ "

A great roar went up from the students, some of them stomping their feet on the ground.

"Who's with me?! Who will stand with the Uzumaki against their foes?! Who will aid me in protecting that which is most precious to us?! Our home, our family?! Who stands with me on this day?!"

There fell a brief silence, during which Hiruzen absently noticed his own faint heartbeat, before the sound of a chair scraping across a wooden floor rang out over the classroom.

Standing with trembling fists, head bowed and tears streaming down his face, Naruto answered.

"I will stand by my family. I will protect my precious people…"

The boy looked up, fire in his eyes as he raised a clenched fist in front of him.

"… Dattebayo!"

There was a brief silence, before another chair was pulled back. Hiruzen felt his eyebrows trying to raise themselves even higher in surprise when he noticed it was the Uchiha this time.

He too had tears streaming down his face, but he stood tall, chest puffed out and hands planted firmly on his hips. He turned his head a little to the right, just as the sun shone it's rays through the nearby window, throwing the onyx-eyed child in a dramatic lighting.

Hiruzen could almost _hear_ the girls' hearts simultaneously melting.

"The Uzumaki shall not stand alone. The Uchiha will aid them, on my honour I swear this."

Immediately following the dramatic statement, another student stood up.

Hiruzen recognized her as Hiashi's eldest, though gone was the meek little girl he had sometimes seen in passing; now, chakra was blazing from her fingertips, while the Byakughan prominently stood out on her delicate features.

"As will the Hyuuga! On my honour I swear this!" the little girl roared with passion.

Almost before she was done, several other chairs were pulled back, a multitude of voices rang out.

"As will the Akimichi! On my honour I swear this!"

"* _sigh*_ Guess there's nothing to it then. The Nara will stand with the Uzumaki, on my honour I swear this."

"You bet that the Yamanaka will stand with the Uzumaki! On my honour I swear this!"

"The Inuzuka will fight with the Uzumaki! On my honour I swear this!"

"Bark!"

"And Akamaru does as well!"

"The Aburame will stand with the Uzumaki. Why? Because never before has a member of our clan been reduced to tears. On my honour I swear this."

Stunned, Hiruzen watched as each and every child, from shinobi clans and civilians alike, pledged to fight alongside the Uzumaki in whatever conflict Iruka had apparently just played out.

Feeling the heavy glare of Danzo in the back of his head, demanding he do something about all of this, Hiruzen sighed. Touching as it was, he simply had to intervene now.

"UMINO IRUKA!"

There was a horrified silence, as both children and sensei stared wide-eyed at their leader standing in the doorway to their classroom.

In a flash, every single child sat back in their chair, their backs rigid against their chairs, heads all pointing straight ahead.

In that same flash, Iruka had suddenly appeared before Hiruzen's feet, faster than his eyes could track, prostrating himself before his leader. The Hokage could tell the teacher was whiter than a ghost (and having spent half a century amongst the elite of the ninja-world, Hiruzen was talking from experience here), and shaking like one of the leaves his village was named for.

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?!" the Hokage thundered in his most commanding voice, shaking some dust loose from the ceiling.

Somehow, Iruka managed to press himself even further into the wooden floor, tearfully answering his leader.

"M-my absolute, most sincerest apologies, Hokage-sama! I just, I mean, somehow, I got caught up in-"

"SILENCE!" Hiruzen boomed again, making the pencils on the student's desk rattle.

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! AN ABOMINATION! THE GRAVEST INSULT TO A GREAT AND NOBLE HISTORY IMANIGABLE!"

Behind him, he could almost _feel_ Danzo's surprised but approving look, while in front of him, Iruka was now openly crying.

"I-I u-understand, H-hokage-sama."

"AFTER ALL…" Hiruzen said, pausing for a moment.

He could hear the student's all sharply inhale in dread, could see the rivers of tears streaming down Iruka's face thicken even more and could imagine in great detail the vindictive glee of Danzo, as they all waited for the hammer to fall.

"… _THIS_ , IS HOW ONE _SHOULD_ REENACT THE LAST STAND OF UZU!"

Iruka's head shot up in surprise, as both the students and Danzo gasped in concert. Faintly, the sound of an armoured glove hitting a porcelain mask could be heard in the background.

Turning around in order to face his desk, Iruka saw the Hokage. But not like he usually saw his benevolent leader. No, _this_ one was standing much like he had mere moments ago, his ceremonial hat akimbo on his head, covering one eye, while the man's robes were tied by their sleeves around his throat, showing of the armour the Hokage always wore underneath them, while the robes themselves were now fluttering dramatically in the wind…

… in a closed classroom.

Darkness had fallen outside (even though mere moments ago it had been a bright, sunny day) and thunder could be heard, while rain softly started falling…

… again, in a _closed_ classroom.

A brief flash of flame lit up the darkness, illuminating the Hokage's lined face (minus the eye that was covered by the hat) throwing it into sharp contrast.

Exhaling deeply the smoke from his recently lit pipe, the aged leader started talking, softly at first but steadily louder, until he was roaring at the top of his lungs.

"My friends. Today, we stand at the end of an era. Our enemies, too cowardly to face our great might on their own, have now grouped together and are howling at our gates. Our seals, our great seals which have kept us safe for so long, are starting to fail against the onslaught of our rabid foes. Konoha has sent aid, but 'ere they arrive here, all that shall remain of Uzu are but mere ruins. But do we accept this?! Do we flee before the darkness?! Do we flee before insurmountable odds?! NO! FOR WE ARE UZUMAKI! THE BLOOD OF THE SAGE HIMSELF RUNS THROUGH OUR VEINS! I STAND HERE BEFORE YOU, UNAFRAID OF THE BATTLE TO COME! THEY MAY HAVE MANY, BUT I HAVE _YOU_! I HAVE YOU, MY PRECIOUS PEOPLE, AND TOGETHER, WE SHALL PROTECT THAT WICH WE HOLD MOST DEAR! AFTER TODAY, OUR BUILDINGS MAY BE SMASHED, OUR BLOODLINES BROKEN, BUT OUR NAME, OUR NAME SHALL _NEVER_ BE FORGOTTON! FROM THIS DAY, UNTIL THE END OF DAYS, TALES WILL BE SUNG OF THE VALOR OF UZU, WHO ALONE STOOD AGAINST IT'S MANY FOES, AND HOW IT MADE THEM _BLEED_! HOW IT _REFUSED_ TO BOW DOWN! HOW IT DECLARED THAT IT WOULD _NOT_ GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT! TODAY, ON THIS DAY, I WILL FIGHT AND DIE FOR YOU, THAT OUR NAME WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR ALL DAYS TO COME, AND FOR OUR SACRIFICE TO NEVER BE FORGOTTEN! I ASK OF YOU NOW, WILL YOU STAND WITH ME?! FOR UZU?! FOR OUR HOME?! FOR OUR FRIENDS, OUR FAMILY?! WILL YOU STAND WITH ME, TO PROTECT YOUR PRECIOUS PEOPLE?!"

By now, tears were once more flowing down everyone's faces, and without really having any say in it, Iruka felt how his body raised it arm, and he could hear himself roar alongside his students.

"YES WE WILL!"

Off to the side during all of this, Danzo was looking on in shock, his mouth hanging open and his eye widened fully. Salamander stepped up next to him, and while his face was concealed, his posture was clearly that of a defeated man.

"What. How. Wait. _What?_ " Danzo stammered helplessly.

Salamander gently patted him on the shoulder.

"I know how you feel." The ANBU-Commander said in an understanding tone of voice, before turning around and slowly starting to make his way out of the Academy.

' _Is it too early to drink? Tch, what am I saying? I'm the ANBU-Commander to Sarutobi Hiruzen; it's_ never _too early to drink.'_

Meanwhile, Danzo was left watching with a twitching eyebrow as his former friend and hated rival led a group of children, and one teacher, on a charge through one of the windows with a battle-cry, one that for some reason sounded suspiciously like 'for rameeeeen!'.

"Wait. _What?!_ "

* * *

 **AN:** Like I said, this one simply wouldn't leave me alone, so it forced me to write it out immediatly. I get that this might confuse some people, especially since the next chapter will start off from where we left in the previous chapter, which chronologically takes place a few years before this. Try not to take this too serisouly, as it's not part of the actual story.

That being said, I hoped you enjoyed this little omake and I'll see you in chapter 5, where Naruto finishes his training under Gai and returns to the Academy! :)


	6. Training completed, a Rivalry started

**[Edit: 09-29-2016]** Right, I just found out that those Omake's completely fucked up my chapter count, so now I need to go back and change all of them. This is gonna be rough.

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – Training completed, a Rivalry started, and a Friendship begun**

It was, as it always is, a bright and sunny day in the oldest Hidden Village in the Elemental Countries. People could be seen bustling in the thriving village, off on various errands or simply out for a walk in order to enjoy the plentiful sun.

Ninja could be seen as dark blurry shapes, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. While customers coming to Konoha would be amazed at the speed and agility displayed by a hurrying ninja, the civilians knew better. Despite not being ninja themselves, they had lived long enough amongst their mass-murdering neighbours to know that for a shinobi, such a rapid trip across the rooftops was comparable to a relaxing stroll.

After all, a ninja who was in a hurry was a ninja who was either too fast or too crafty to be seen by mere civilians.

If we move towards the edges of the village, we come across several of the Training Grounds open to the ninja of Konoha. Protected with more than was visible to the untrained eye (and several trained eyes as well), these areas were generally used by the Jounin which had Genin teams, the Genin themselves, or by individual or teams of Chunin, hoping to hone their skills.

Jounin, of course, either had too destructive or too secretive techniques to simply practise out in the open, and instead made use of several hidden Training Grounds, the location of which wasn't known to the civilians.

Or a lot of the other shinobi forces, for that matter.

The ANBU, on the other hand, were rumoured to have entire training facilities hidden throughout (and under) the Village. Of course, the only ones who knew where they were even located were the currently active ANBU themselves, since this information is removed by a Yamanaka from the ANBU who decide to retire.

Not that that mattered to those ANBU who retired on a more complete and a definitely more… _permanent_ basis.

It says everything you ever need to know about the ANBU that the last Operative a Yamanaka had to mind-wipe was Kakashi, despite the ANBU having had multiple changes of rosters since then.

But the focus of our story isn't the secretive facilities of the ANBU, or even the hidden training grounds of the Jounin. No, our focus lies with one of the more commonly used Training Grounds, which were open to all shinobi forces. It appeared like many of the other Training Grounds, consisting of a rather large clearing, surrounded by a small forest, and through which ran a small creek.

The majority of the Training Grounds were equipped in such a way. This was done in order to simulate a scenario most shinobi would encounter in battle, many of which would take place in Fire Country itself, given the fact that mostly Genin and Chunin trained here, who usually didn't leave the border all that much.

Of course, there were other, more specialised Training Grounds, which simulated the climates and surroundings of the other Elemental Countries, such as an artificial desert for Wind Country, or a rocky terrain, void of any vegetation, for Earth Country.

There were rumours amongst civilians that there was a gigantic out-door pool as a simulation for Water Country, but one was never found, and the shinobi neither confirmed or denied it.

But, once more, I digress. After all, we are more interested in one of the more generic Training Grounds, where the sound of flesh impacting wood could be heard clearly amongst the babbling of the nearby creek, and the chirping of the birds.

 _Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!_

"…203!" "…204!" "…205!"

In the clearing of the Training Ground, three wooded poles were planted firmly in the ground. Each one was roughly as thick as a man's chest, and would come up to the average man's hip. All three were showing signs of obvious wear, criss-crossed with cuts and small burns and with pieces of wood even missing completely. The cause of these marks was currently abusing the middle post, leading to the sound we heard earlier.

 _Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!_

"…206!" "…207!" "…208!"

A small boy, no older than eight, was relentlessly punching the middle post, little chips of wood springing away with every punch. The child had impossibly bright yellow hair, sticking out in a spiky pattern which appeared to not have been informed of the laws of gravity yet. The blonde boy wore rather standard clothing, consisting of a white t-shirt and blue pants, except for the somewhat shiny bandages that covered his hands up to hallway of the forearms, sans the fingers, which were left exposed.

 _Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!_

"…209!" "…210!" "…211!"

Standing a little way off from the training child, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, stood perhaps the oddest man in all of the Elemental Nations. Clad in nothing but a green spandex jumpsuit, with vibrant orange legwarmers and a red sash on his hips, many would question not only his fashion sense, but if the man had any common sense at all.

And that's without even taking the man's eyebrows into account.

By Kami, those EYEBROWS. Gigantic things, they were thick and hairy in the most unnatural of ways, appearing more as particularly thick and hairy caterpillars than eyebrows. They were so eye-catching, for all the wrong reasons, one could easily be forgiven for missing the man's haircut, which was shaped into an impossibly gleaming bowl cut.

This man was Might Guy, the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha, infamous Taijustu Master, Copy-Cat Kakashi's Eternal Rival…

 _Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!_

"…212!" "…213!" "…214!"

… and, since about a year ago, Uzumaki Naruto's teacher.

Said child was still mercilessly hammering away at the unyielding wooden post under the watchful gaze of his sensei, either not caring or not noticing the way he was dripping in sweat.

 _Thwack! Thwack!_

"…214!" "…215!"

Suddenly, Guy called out to his student, his exuberant voice easily rising above the sound of Naruto's training.

"YOSH, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT! YOU MAY STOP YOUR INTELLIGENT HARD WORK NOW, YOU'RE FLAMES OF YOUTH HAVE TRULY BEEN FANNED INTO AN INFERNO OF YOUTH TODAY!"

"Hai, sensei!" Naruto called back with a relieved pant, before falling flat on his face.

Chuckling, Guy made his way to his student, who had managed to roll himself over, so he was now lying spread-eagled on the ground, looking up at the fluffy clouds serenely drifting by.

Unknown to him, several Nara had the odd feeling someone was muscling in on their monopoly on cloud watching. This could have become a major and sensational plot point in the story, as the Nara would rise up against whoever thought they had a right to stare at _their_ clouds, causing much strife and drama in Konoha as a result.

However, the Nara were too lazy to actually get up and do anything about it, so they simply continued to lay down and stare at the clouds, opting to try to ignore the newcomer with a practise that came from years of saying "Yes dear, I'll do it tomorrow."

Needless to say, this practise sometimes got a raised eyebrow whenever a Nara wasn't, in fact, at home, but, say, in the Hokage's office.

But that's a tale for another time. For now, we return to Naruto, who is being helped into a sitting position by his sensei.

Guy handed his student a bottle of water, cooled with a simple jutsu used for… well, for cooling things. Naruto eagerly accepted the cool water, taking great gulps of the life giving liquid, though taking care not to drink too fast.

Experience was a harsh teacher, after all.

Waiting a little before his student had regained his composure, Guy started talking in a noticeably softer and warmer voice.

"So, Naruto, are you exited for tomorrow?"

Immediately the child nodded with such enthusiasm, he spilled a little from the water bottle.

"You bet, Guy-Sensei! I can't wait to go back to the Academy and show them just how much stronger I've become, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled boisterously, making his sensei laugh.

"That's good to hear, Naruto." The spandex-clad man said with a big smile. "But, remember, a Genius of Hard Work is never done. You must still try your best at the Academy, and try to learn as much as you can from your senseis. _All_ of your sensei's, Naruto." The last part was said sternly.

Naruto's head dropped, as his face formed a stubborn pout.

"I'll try sensei." The child muttered, though it was obvious he wasn't pleased at all about it.

"And that's all I'll ever ask of you Naruto." Guy said with a warm smile.

Spirits lifted, Naruto happily nodded back at his sensei. Guy clapped his hands together as he stood straight again, a large smile on his face which literally sparkled in the sunlight.

"YOSH!" he said in his usual tone, "LET'S FINISH UP FOR TODAY, SHALL WE, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT?"

Naruto simply looked confused, glancing form the sun high in the sky to his sensei and back.

"Already Bushy-Brow Sensei? It's still light out-"

"FIRST!" a finger suddenly _appeared_ in front of Naruto's face, causing him to fall backwards with an _'eep!'_ of surprise.

"MY NAME IS _STILL_ NOT BUSHY-BROW SENSEI! SECOND!" a second finger appeared, "TOMORROW IS A BIG DAY FOR YOU, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT. WHILE I ADMIRE THE WAY IN WICH YOU WISH TO FAN YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH TO EVEN GREATER HEIGHTS, A GENIUS OF HARD WORK SHOULD ALWAYS KNOW WHEN IT IS BEST _NOT_ TO WORK!"

The short impromptu speech was capped off by a thumbs-up and another impossibly bright smile.

"Huh?"

Guy face-faulted. Standing up with a great sigh and dusting off his pristine green spandex jumpsuit, the oddest man in the world clarified himself.

"What I mean is, that in order for your big day tomorrow, you should make sure that you take plenty of rest, leaving you all the more prepared for when you truly need it."

"Ahhhh." Naruto said, as understanding lit up his face.

"So, that means, that today we _won't_ be going on with training until the sun is coming up again, then go to bed, only to rise with the sun the next day?!" the child yelled excitedly, his hopeful face that of a dehydrated man who, after years of crawling through the unforgiving desert, finally stumbles across an oasis filled with food and drink and, more importantly, busty naked ladies.

Very… _lonely_ busty ladies.

"Well, yes." Guy said, a little confused as to why his student appeared so relieved that he would be missing out on the greatest and most youthful of training regiment in the world, courtesy of yours truly.

Ignoring Naruto's whoops (and tears) of joy, Guy cleared his throat, patiently waiting for attention. He had to clear it several more times before he finally got it. By now, that patience was pretty much gone.

"Right, before I let you go home, Naruto, please preform your technique one final time, so we can see the results of your year of training under me."

"Hai sensei!" Naruto yelled excitedly, giving a sloppy salute, before falling into a now familiar stance.

Feed spread slightly apart, with one fist clenched at his side and his eyes closed. For a few tense seconds, nothing happened, before suddenly, Naruto started to glow, the glow quickly growing into a blue flickering shroud, appearing as if it was made out of an ethereal flame.

As a current of wind began to surround the young Uzumaki, the shroud started churning wildly around his body, carving deep grooves in the ground beneath his feet. As the shroud began swirling faster and faster around him, a more solid shroud sprang into existence around the boy's fist, rolling madly around his bandages, which started to glow in the same colour as the rest of the shroud.

Finally, Naruto opened his eyes, which were now glowing brightly with an inner light, and let out a yell which was audible to most of Konoha. Briefly he crouched a little deeper, coiling his body, before he pushed off, cratering the ground beneath him. Shooting forwards in nothing but a blur, creating a deep furrow in the ground, Naruto shot off towards his target; the wooden post he had been punching mere minutes ago.

 _BTOOOMMM!_

Guy had to shield his eyes for a few seconds before looking back towards his student. What he saw made him smile proudly. A smile which was mirrored on his pupil's face, as Naruto stood grinning like an idiot at his bandaged fist, the wraps still faintly glowing blue, while his fist was still smoking slightly.

The wooden post was completely gone.

As were the two to the side of it.

* * *

Naruto still had an enormously bright smile on his face as he walked back towards the Academy. Sure, it sucked that he had to return there in the first place, but training under Guy had been so _cool_! Even though most of it had been rather boring straight-forwards stuff in trying to strengthening his body, just having a sensei who was trying his best to help him out and make him stronger was the greatest thing in the world to Naruto.

So, it was with lifted spirits that Naruto started his second time in the first year at the Academy. Those spirits became increasingly harder to lift as the months started to drag on though; he was starting to get bored.

In terms of the academic stuff, Naruto still wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and he knew that. Despite this, he still gave it his all (he promised, after all, and he _never_ breaks his promises), but to his surprise found out that a lot of the basics he had either picked up in his previous year at the Academy, or under the tutelage of Guys-sensei. As a result, his interest in the theory of being a ninja plummeted quicker than his grades on the exams.

In terms of all the physical stuff though, he was one of the best of his class, a novel sensation to the young Naruto. His year under Guy, while focused more on just increasing his strength and stamina, had inevitably led to Naruto being instructed in taijutsu several levels above the Academy-level curriculum.

In fact, he would've been the very best in terms of taijutsu, if not for the few clan children in his class, who had had lessons from their clan, giving them a leg up on the other civilian children. The most notable of these children however, was one of those Hyuuga guys, the ones with the creepy eyes, the long hair, and the sticks up their butts.

Neji, for some reason, disliked him intensely, and took great pleasure in winning every single one of their spars. This of course, riled Naruto up, who was not only a pretty sore loser (a flaw which he was aware of, but had no idea how to handle), but also incredibly proud of his Hard Work, an attitude already present in the young Uzumaki and which had been polished by the work ethic of Might Guy.

Eventually, this all came to a head during one of their spars, about two months after Naruto had joined the Academy again. All day long, Naruto had been in a foul mood, due to Neji taunting him at every possibility.

Of which there agonisingly were many.

First there were of course their test results, in which the Hyuuga prodigy had surpassed Naruto's grade by a mile. Something the genius took great pleasure in pointing out in great detail.

Naruto, though annoyed, tried not to let to get it to him too much, reasoning that, since he hadn't Worked Hard at the theory, a Natural Genius was bound to do better than him. All he had to do was Work Hard next time on a test, and his Genius of Hard Work would surpass Neji's Natural Genius.

Sadly, this reasoning didn't help him when the class was taken outside, in order to practise the practical parts of the shinobi-trade. First came the accuracy-test, which is where the trouble truly began. Now, Naruto was by no means doing badly; he hit the target more often than he missed, and he even received a sort-of backhanded compliment from his sensei that his throws were very powerful.

Neji, however, managed to hit _everything_. Without even breaking a sweat. Predictably, another tirade followed, in which Neji dragged up every possible reason as to why he was inherently superior to Naruto, conveniently leaving out the fact that he was a year older than the blonde.

Naruto, of course, started to defend himself in the only way he knew how; by yelling. _Loudly._ It wasn't helped by the Kyuubi egging him on with its insidious whispers, apparently having a great time while the two children bickered, the harsher the insults the better.

Of course, it was Naruto who ended up with detention for disturbing the lesson, even though Neji had matched his volume insult for insult. This of course, did nothing to take away Naruto's anger, which was left to quietly stew as they were taken to the small arena the Academy used for spars between students.

As luck (or, as Neji would argue, Fate) would have it, eventually Naruto and Neji were paired up together. Naruto was well and truly seeing red now, due to the Kyuubi not relenting in trying to rile the child up.

Standing a few feet apart, not having made the sign of confrontation despite the teacher ordering them to do so, the two boys stared each other in the eye.

And then Neji started talking.

Later, Naruto couldn't be able to tell you just what it was that Neji had said to him, due to not really paying attention and the Kyuubi's unrelenting voice combining with that of Neji's. The end result though, became somewhat of a legend in the Academy.

At some unseen command, Naruto and Neji shot off towards each other, faster than any preteen had any right to move. Naruto of course, started with wild strikes, added with the few kicks, overall showing a bastardized and simplified version of the Goken. Neji however, was like water to Naruto's rock. The pale-eyed child either flowed around the attacks, or guided them away with what almost could be mistaken for gentleness, if not for the hate filled gaze of the Hyuuga.

All the while, Neji didn't stop taunting Naruto.

"So, this is what a year training under the greatest taijutsu master of Konoha does to your skills Uzumaki; they raise them from barely existing to barely recognizable."

A wide swing, followed by a brutal knee-strike, both of which are almost danced around, leaving them to hit nothing but air.

"SHUT UP!"

"Why, Uzumaki? Is the truth of my words that unacceptable to you? Does the fact that you can finally see that Fate will always hold you down finally register with your loser brain?"

Another kick, this time aimed to take his head of his shoulders, but it is caught and pushed away and above, making the attack go wild and miss.

"Face it Uzumaki, you are a loser, and a loser like you will _never_ be able to beat a genius like me."

" _SHUT UP!"_

To the surprise of all present, not the least of which Neji himself, Naruto nearly exploded with a blue light. Covered in a shroud of blue flames, Naruto attacked once more. The difference was immediately visible though.

Naruto's speed was raised so he appeared little more than a blur to his classmates, shattering the ground every time he pushed off. He appeared to be stronger as well, because when Neji tried to deflect a punch aimed at his chest, he found that Naruto's fist simply ignored his guard, smashing into his solar plexus.

Jumping back, to create a little distance and buy himself some time, though if Naruto's new speed was anything to go by, it really wouldn't help all that much, Neji prepared himself, briefly closing his eyes.

Naruto, who admittedly wasn't really thinking straight at this point, thanks to the Kyuubi manipulating his anger to even greater heights, interpreted this as another insult form the Hyuuga, as if he was claiming that he could beat Naruto, even with his eyes closed.

' _I'll show him! I'll show_ all _of them!'_

Naruto shot off, once more creating a furrow in the ground, chakra covering his form, and making the wraps around his hands light up in a blue glow. Cocking back his fist, the bandages glowing even brighter, Naruto prepared himself to launch his opponent straight into next week.

And the week after that, if he was lucky.

Just before the hit landed though, Neji opened his eyes, with a whispered command, only audible to the two of them.

"Byakugan!"

Veins stood out prominently on the prodigies face, accentuating the child's dōjutsu. Chakra blazed from his fingertips, as his hands blurred forwards, striking Naruto a few times in the torso, as Neji threw himself to the side.

 _BOOM!_

Where Neji stood mere moments before was now a small crater, with Naruto's fist, wrapped in blue-glowing bandages, in the centre.

Both children straightened themselves, each carefully taking in their opponent.

' _I don't know what he's doing, but dammit, my chest hurts. Like, a lot.'_ Naruto thought to himself, trying to hide a grimace, as he gently rubbed his chest through his shirt.

' _ **That's the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist. Instead of hitting your outside, they use their Byakugan to hit your inside.'**_ The Kyuubi spoke up, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

' _Your inside? That's just… weird.'_ Naruto thought in confusion, keeping his eyes on his opponent.

' _ **Scratch weird, little one, try dangerous.'**_

' _How dangerous can be attacking the inside of you be?'_

' _ **You can train your outsides, small one, strengthen your muscles and harden your skin. But, can you train your organs? Can you train your heart, or your lungs, to take a hit and keep going?'**_

Naruto gulped as his imagination provided some gruesome images. That, or the Kyuubi did, Naruto wouldn't put it past the ancient fox.

' _That's uhh, that's pretty scary.'_

' _ **I know. Which is why you need to stop dicking around little one. That one doesn't look like he's holding back; if not for your chakra shroud and natural toughness, those last couple of strikes could have done some serious damage.'**_ The Kyuubi said grimly.

Naruto didn't say anything back, but he didn't have to. Setting his mouth in a thin line, Naruto sunk a little lower in his stance, while the chakra surrounding his body started to rapidly grow larger.

Naruto was ready for round two.

* * *

Meanwhile, Neji was also contemplating his opponent.

' _My strikes were… not_ stopped _per se, but definitely slowed, or muted. It must be that chakra shroud; my Gentle Fist can breach it, but it takes power to do so, leaving my strikes less powerful as a result.'_ Neji's brilliant mind concluded within seconds.

While no Nara, Neji's label as a genius wasn't banded about without reason; not only powerful, but incredibly smart, Neji lived up to his impressive reputation.

' _Still, knowing_ how _his defence works doesn't really help me much in_ overcoming _it. The obvious answer of course is to simply use more power, but I'm not proficient enough to simply dump more chakra in the Gentle Fist without either harming myself, or killing Uzumaki.'_ Neji thought to himself grimly, though his face betrayed none of his doubts.

' _Of course, if I can hit his tenketsu, then I can shut down his shroud, and finally put that loser in the place Fate has ordained for him. But his shroud is so_ bright _, I cannot even make out his pathways!'_

It was true; to Neji's Byakugan, Naruto wasn't a dark shape through which ran bright pathways to and from a central chakra core, like everybody else. No, Naruto appeared like a person, completely filled and surrounded by chakra, making it impossible to make out anything else but the silhouette of Naruto's body.

Naruto wasn't the first to achieve such a feat, though he was probably one of the youngest, and his method was certainly… unique. But in the history of the Shinobi world, there have been several ninja who had been both clever enough to find a way around the Byakugan.

Interesting fact about the Byakugan; it can see through almost everything with relative ease. Chakra, however, doesn't fall under ´almost everything'. While a Byakugan can easily see through a Genjutsu, this is only a very thin layer of chakra, which doesn't correspond with the shapes in the rest of the world; hence why a Hyuuga can almost always tell when he's placed under a Genjutsu.

However, a Genjutsu is a _very_ thin film of chakra. Make the chakra film significantly thicker, and suddenly, the Byakugan cannot look through it anymore. Of course, this is also dependant of the skill of the Hyuuga.

For instance, if Naruto had tried to fight Hyuuga Hiashi, current Clan Head of the Hyuuga, then Hiashi would barely hesitate in shutting down every single tenketsu in Naruto's body, the Clan Head's greater experience and more powerful Byakugan winning it from Naruto's shroud.

Neji, however, had only received training in the Gentle Fist, in the sense that he had been taught how to strike at a person's innards and soft tissue. He had yet to be properly instructed in how to strike and close another person's tenketsu.

Neji, being the genius he is, had already managed to make some progress with this, despite not having been taught how to do so, but that wasn't sufficient enough to properly use it against Naruto now.

On top of that, while his Byakugan was hailed as the most powerful seen in generations, he was still a nine-year old kid; it simply wasn't matured enough to pierce Naruto's thick shroud.

' _There's nothing to it then. I must use the Gentle Fist and try to strike hard enough to down the loser.'_ Neji thought coldly to himself.

Unspoken a message passed between the two combatants, unseen by their audience, but clear as day to the other.

' _Bring it!'_

And they obliged.

Both shot forward at the same time, Naruto covered in blue flaming chakra, Neji with chakra blazing from his fingertips. Naruto was still faster, his training under Might Guy and his shroud making him the swiftest eight-year old in Konoha.

As he reached Neji, his fist shot out, his bandages glowing dangerously. Neji ducked under it, however, striking at the arm and Naruto's unprotected side several times in the span of mere seconds. Naruto, however, gave nothing more than a grunt, and brought up a knee, in order to strike Neji in the chest.

Recognising the danger, and realising that Naruto was too strong to properly block, Neji jumped back a few feet. His opponent didn't let up though, closely following Neji's footsteps, letting out lightning fast jabs with his left arm, occasionally throwing in a kick or two.

Neji was forced back several steps, furiously dodging whenever he could, and gritting his teeth whenever he couldn't. Every strike of Naruto rattled his bones, despite only clipping him slightly.

Frowning, Neji thought to himself, _'I need to change my tactics. He's forcing me on the defensive and turning it in a war of attrition, which we both know he will win.'_

It was the single thing that Neji would concede to his opponent; he had stamina. All of their fights ended in his favour because he shut the Uzumaki down quickly and harshly, as fast as he could. But he had seen the loser fight others in the ring before.

While the rest of the class were losers as well, it was still telling in the way his opponent would be forced to fight in three back to back matches and still have the most energy left out of all of them at the end of the day.

Having reached his decision, Neji intentionally lagged in bringing up his guard after having deflected one of Naruto's kicks. Predictably, Naruto saw the opening and without hesitation tried to go for another punch to the chest.

However, at the very last moment, Neji twisted around the strike and stepped forwards, inside Naruto's guard. Seeing his opponent's eyes widen in fear and understanding, Neji let out a cruel sneer and shoved both hands, still glowing with the effects of the Gentle Fist, into Naruto's chest.

 _Hard_.

With a strangled yell, Naruto was flung back through the air several feet, before crashing into the ground and sliding a few feet further.

Neji barely managed to keep a sigh of relief from escaping him; everything was sore, both form pushing his own body to match Naruto's speed, as well as from the few glancing hits he had taken from Naruto's technique.

Fixing a sneer on his face, prepared to give another speech as to why his opponent was and always would be a loser, thanks to Fate, Neji opened his mouth. Before he could speak, however, he was cut off by coughing from Naruto's prone form.

' _No, not coughing._ Laughing _?!´_

Somehow, this enraged Neji to levels he didn't think he was capable of.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY, LOSER?! HUH?!" he roared, shocking not only his classmates, but himself as well.

More laughter was his answer. Before he could shout again, Naruto cut him off, finally speaking up.

"I… win…" the blonde chocked out, before succumbing to another coughing/laughing fit.

"What-?" Neji started, but before he could finish his question, he had already found his answer.

He was outside of the white ring. Naruto had attacked so ferociously that he had lost sight of his surroundings. Naruto had forced him outside of the ring, engaging him with such tenacity that he hadn't even noticed.

' _He tricked me?'_

Looking from his feet, which were most definitely _outside_ of the white ring of the arena, to the still laughing Naruto, who was now working himself to his feet, despite having been Jyūkend twice in the chest at full power, it finally sank into Neji's mind.

' _He tricked me. I lost.'_

In a flat voice, that somehow still managed to convey an immense fury, Neji answered his opponent, who was now standing on shaky feet, wiping away some blood from his mouth.

"So it would seem. Well done, Loser. Next time, however, Fate itself will show you the consequences of trying to defy it. Prepare yourself."

With that, he turned on his heel, hair swaying dramatically behind him, and stormed off into the Academy, not sparing a glance backwards at his grinning opponent.

* * *

' _I didn't know I could even feel that much pain in so many places at once.'_ Naruto thought to himself with a groan, as he gently poked one of his ribs with a careful touch.

A dark chuckling, from the back of his mind was his only answer.

' _ **You think this is pain little one? This is only a prelude to what is yet to await you.'**_

' _Whatever. I don't care, I'm not letting that stop me, dattebayo!'_

There was a brief pause, before the demonic fox finally answered.

' _ **No, I rather thought that it wouldn't.'**_ the Kyuubi said thoughtfully.

' _What the hell do you mean with that, Fox?'_ Naruto yelled, but he received no answer.

Sighing, Naruto dusted himself of and straightened himself. Already, his wounds were healing, and not bothering him so much. Opening his eyes, Naruto fell back with an _´eep!'_. Right in front of him, the two roundest eyes he had ever seen were staring at him unblinkingly.

Overcoming his shock, Naruto looked the child that was attached to the strange eyes up and down. He vaguely recognized him, but he had only been with his new classmates for a few months, and he didn't really interact with any of them, either training or getting in fights with Neji.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked hesitantly, though he was a little distracted by the boy's face.

' _It looked like the caterpillars on Bushy-Brow Sensei's face finally decided to have babies and those babies travelled to this guy's face!'_ Naruto thought to himself in equal parts horrified fascination and disgust.

The disgust part came from the fact that Naruto, being a young orphan in a tough neighborhood in a Village filled with psychopaths, knew in great detail just what process was involved in the creation of babies.

He'd rather not envision Bushy-Brow Sensei's eyebrows in that process, thank you very much.

He was shaken from his morbid thoughts by the boy in front of him, who looked at him admiringly.

"That was incredible, Uzumaki-san! You actually managed to defeat Neji, despite him being a Genius!"

Naruto swelled with pride. Having such few people in his life who genuinely cared about him, compliments were a rare and treasured thing to the young child.

"Heh, that's because I'm Naruto Uzumaki, dattebayo! I'm a Genius of Hard Work, and a Genius of Hard Work will always overcome a Natural Genius!" Naruto yelled proudly, thumping himself on the chest.

Somehow, the child's gargantuan round eyes managed to grow even larger.

"A Genius of Hard Work?"

Naruto nodded with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, my sensei always said that if you put everything you have in Working Hard, than you become an even greater ninja than any Natural Genius!"

A hopeful look overcame the other boy's face, his massive eyebrows scrunched up in thought.

"You can become a powerful ninja through Hard Work?" the child thought out loud, a desperate hope coloring his voice.

Naruto, picking up his companions voice, nodded wildly.

"Yep! I trained a year under him, and I'm gonna keep working as hard as I can to become the strongest ninja Konoha has ever seen, dattebayo!"

Naruto eyed the other boy, scratching his chin in thought. There was something about the kid with the weird eyebrows, something in his impossibly round eyes, that Naruto recognized in himself, back when he thought he was all alone.

A look of despair.

He _hated_ that look.

Having made his decision right there, Naruto clapped the other boy on the shoulder.

"Hey, if you'd like, we can go visit Sensei and see if he wants to train us some more?"

The kid's face lit up like the brightest Christmas tree in the history of Christmas. This analogy would have been far more impressive of course, if people in the Elemental even knew what Christmas was, but that's neither here nor there.

Nodding so enthusiastically that it made his braid flap around wildly, the other child answered immediately.

"Yes! Yes, of course I'd like that! Thank you, Uzumaki-san, you shall not regret this, I swear!"

Naruto simply waved him off, making his way into the Academy as well.

"No problem. Just call me Naruto, dattebayo! By the way, what's your name?"

Hurrying a little in order to keep up with Naruto, the kid answered excitedly.

"My name's Rock Lee!"

* * *

About a mile away, lying on his futon, the newest Icha Icha in his hand, Hatake Kakashi felt a chill travel down his spine, despite the pleasantly warm weather. Grabbing a kunai from beneath his pillow in a white-knuckled grip, the Jounin lifted his headband, exposing a blood-red eye with three spinning tomoe in it to the world.

"Why do I feel like something terrible has happened?" he asked himself in a tense whisper, both mis-matched eyes flitting across his room.

"And, more importantly, why does it feel like it's somehow Guy related?"

* * *

 **Fun Fact:** Shikamaru's IQ is over 200. To put that in perspective, Bill Gates is roumoured to have an IQ of about a 170. My own is somehwhat above 130.


	7. New Techniques and New Challenges

**Chapter 7 – New techniques and new challenges**

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office, chewing worriedly on his pipe. While his eyes were trained on the mountains of paperwork on the desk in front of him, his thoughts were elsewhere.

' _Today, the Academy Students will learn their first technique, the Henge. But I am still worried about Naruto. Who knows what he will do now, or how it may harm him?'_ the aged Hokage thought to himself, eyes flittering to where the Academy lay.

 _´I'll just have to trust him, I suppose.'_ Hiruzen thought with a sigh, as he closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair.

 _´Good luck, Naruto.'_

* * *

"GOOD LUCK, NARUTO-SENPAI!"

"Thanks Lee, you too!"

Two children were bouncing in their seats, yelling at the top of their lungs, even as they were sitting right next to each other. One was rather short, with sun-yellow hair sitting on his head in an unruly mop, and with three whisker marks on either cheek. The boy next to him had long, shiny black hair, fastened into a long braid, and impossibly round eyes and large eyebrows.

These were Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee, respectively, loud-mouths of the Academy, and since Naruto's spar with Neji, fast friends. Both shared a similar work ethic and an indomitable spirit; both respected each other's dream, even when everybody else thought it would always be just that, a dream.

While this on its own might have led to the strong friendship both boys shared, it was certainly helped when Naruto took Lee to meet his sensei for the last year; Might Guy, taijutsu-expert extraordinaire, and he meant that in every sense of the way.

Guy and Lee took one look at each other, and a lifelong bond was forged with the flames of Youth.

Or so they claimed.

Naruto privately thought that their eyebrows had recognized each other as kin, and made their wearers bond because of it.

While Guy was now no longer Naruto's teacher, which meant that he was away far more often from the village for high-ranking missions he hadn't been able to do because of his obligations to the blonde, he still left both eager children with tips and advice, even helping them plan out a training regime to keep to when he was gone.

So the citizens of Konoha were quickly forced to get used to two boys, tearing down their streets in what appeared to be a training exercise. Of course, while Naruto loved training, he also had the attention span of a hyperactive gerbil fed copious amounts of caffeine and sugar. So those exercise runs quickly turned into desperate runs for freedom from pursuing squads of ANBU as Naruto started to prank them again.

It had been difficult to get Lee in on the pranks, as he found them dishonorable, and did not wish to antagonize comrades from his own village. However, when Naruto mentioned that there were no ways to increase his flames of Youth and those of his comrades better than by keeping the ANBU on their toes and trying to evade them with all their skill, an unholy fire lit itself in the young boy's unnaturally round eyes.

"YOSH! IN THAT CASE, LET ME ALLOW MY FLAMES OF YOUTH TO FAN THEIRS INTO AN INFERNO AS THEY CHASE US IN YOUTHFUL SPIRIT!"

And with those words, Lee had slipped inside an ANBU storage facility Naruto had found, bottle of itching-powder in hand. Turns out, having virtually no chakra at all made you almost invisible to the chakra sensing abilities of most ninja. Even the sensors, ninja whose skills focused solely around that area of expertise, simply felt something small brush their senses and dismissed it as another one of the copious amounts of rats that infested the many underground systems of Konoha.

While the boys quickly figured out that Lee had a greatly easier time sneaking into places he wasn't allowed to be than Naruto did, both boys wouldn't really grasp the full potential of Lee's small chakra reserves until several years later.

The irate (not to mention, itchy) ANBU however, cottoned on immediately, and grudgingly prepared a spot amongst their numbers for the chakra-less shinobi. Hell, if the kid didn't cut it at the Academy, which seemed likely, then the ANBU could think of several uses for an undetectable ninja, even if he couldn't do jutsu.

After all, whether you got burned to crisp by a fireball, or simply received a kunai to the throat, you were still just as dead either way.

And ANBU were all about results.

For now however, both ANBU and potential assassination missions were far from either boys mind, as they were bouncing in their seats. Because today, they would set their first step on the long road to their ultimate goal, the first step in achieving their lifelong dream.

Today, they would learn their very first technique.

The teachers had guided everyone through unlocking their chakra, even though Naruto had already unlocked his, something only a few other clan children had accomplished as well, Neji Hyuuga being among them, to the Uzumaki's ire.

Those that failed to unlock their chakra, either due to lack of skill or due lack of required chakra, were not so subtly turned towards other branches of Konoha's military, that didn't require chakra to fulfill. This only left those with a large enough pool of chakra for it to be useful and large enough skill to make use of it, Lee a noticeable exception, only his record-breaking scores in taijutsu and a personal request from Guy keeping him from being sent away from the Academy.

Those that were left were all giddy with excitement, even the stoic Neji, eager to learn their first _real_ shinobi skill. Sure, they had had weapon training before, and taijutsu as well, both essential parts of any ninja's arsenal. But that wasn't something exclusive to their special brand of mercenaries; any civilian with the proper motivation could do the same.

Hell, with his chakra reserves as low as they were, Rock Lee could be considered just that!

But ninjutsu, that was the stuff of every boy's dream; to tame the very elements themselves, to do the impossible but with a mere flick of one's hand, to preform feats no non-shinobi could ever hope to match.

As a result, both boys were positively vibrating in their seats.

Yes, one had far too much chakra for any Academy level technique to work properly, and yes, the other had too little, BUT that just made things more interesting for the two Geniuses of Hard and Intelligent Work.

Their sensei cleared his throat, and all of the unruly children, but especially Lee and Naruto, settled down. Nobody wanted to miss this.

"Today we will start you on your first technique. While all of the Academy Three find regular use amongst even Jounin level shinobi, they are also rather simple to teach, as they require relatively little amounts of chakra to use.

Be advised, however, that this also means that they are easily countered by enemy shinobi, as they are all known and well versed throughout the Elemental Countries, be it with slight local variations.

It's the reason why we don't simply use a Henge and walk through another Hidden Village's front Gate; they would spot it immediately, and the resulting onslaught of weaponry and jutsu would turn you into a mix between a pincushion and a roast-spit."

Several girls looked rather green at that remark, though if the instructor noticed, he didn't comment on it, instead continuing with the lecture in a sharp voice.

"Don't bother trying to use the Kawirami as anything other than a quick escape; the only person on record to have been capable of using it as a combat tactic is a prodigious Uchiha, with a powerful Dōjutsu, even by their standards.

Don't look at me like that Hyuuga, your eyes are powerful, yes, but until any of you can perceive time at a rate of 1 to 20, don't even think about it. You'd just get turned into a roast-spit for your troubles."

Several girls had turned white now, though still the instructor did not relent.

"Bunshin are easily seen through, if you know where to look; they have no shadow, they leave no imprint, their clothes and hair are unruffled by any wind. For the observant eye, it becomes immediately clear they are nothing more than mere illusions, not worthy of attention.

Think you can hide yourself amidst several clones as you make your attack, confident your opponent will not be able to tell which one is the real you? Once again, a skilled opponent will simply not even bother with the clones, thank you politely for bringing yourself within his range without any effort on his part and turn you into a roast spit."

The instructor let out an evil smirk, letting his eyes roam across the class of terrified children.

"You'll find that the more skilled ninja have a… habit, for turning people into roast-spits. Not healthy, but to each his own, I suppose.

NOW!-" the teacher said, slamming his hand down onto the desk with a large clap, making several girls (and a few boys) shriek in terror.

"- does that mean that what you will learn here is completely useless for you against enemy shinobi? Quite frankly, yes."

At that a hushed silence fell across the class, every child confused at the statement, but all of them too terrified to ask for an explanation. Again, the teacher's gaze swept around the room, though this time his stern voice was more solemn.

"Shinobi you may be if you graduate this Academy, but seasoned warriors, you are not. Each one of you has the potential to become one, however. All of you possess a chance to be truly _great_. But you will not become that here. Instead, in teams of three, you will be paired with a teacher and teammates best suited in your interest, who can help you the most in fully realizing your potential.

It is why a mission is B-Ranked whenever possible contact with enemy shinobi is within the mission parameters. It is also the reason why a Rookie Genin will never, ever, _ever_ go on a B Mission of any kind. It is simply too dangerous, even if the enemy are mere Genin as well.

This does not, however, mean that you will not run into danger along the way. Bandits, criminals, yakuza, hell, maybe even a ronin, these are all foes you are likely to face, and these are all foes that will not hesitate to cut you down.

Which is where the Academy Three come in. A shinobi will easily counter them, but a civilian, even a trained one? You _might_ just stand a chance. Use Bunshin to show confusion and avoid being targeted; in the heat of battle, it's unlikely they'll notice absent shadows or footprints.

Use a Henge to either impersonate their fellows, or if possible, an innocent bystander. If you find yourself being hunted down, use the Henge to throw off your pursuers.

Still managed to get yourself into a tight spot? Kawirami the fuck away, and hightail it out of there and towards your sensei. He's still alive, because if he isn't, you wouldn't be either."

The instructor let his heavy gaze slowly roam around the class once more, taking in each face.

There were the blubbering messes, of course, mostly civilian children that so far thought that weapon training and learning how to fight were more like some outlandish game that true shinobi preparation.

A shame, since if they managed to get here, that meant that they still had the potential for a viable chakra pool. No matter; if they didn't make it, then Konoha still had use for them, in any number of ways.

A nice shinobi Village it may be, it was still a shinobi Village and no resource went wasted.

Next were those with quiet, determined expressions on their young faces. Children of clans, mostly, who had heard this message hundreds of times before from various family members, or simply watched some come home who hadn't heeded it themselves.

The stoic Hyuuga was a good example, face a carefully blank mask, even as pupil less eyes shone with an iron will.

Even some civilian children had managed to show some spine, and did not appear to be daunted by his speech.

That girl, TenTen, for instance, who even now was showing an almost unnatural proficiency with ranged weapons of any kind… and even turning some melee weapons into ranged ones.

The double-bladed battle-ax stuck in a poor, defenseless training dummy had been particularly interesting.

And then there were… the odd ones.

During his tale, and with each horrific warning, two faces simply lit up in joy and determination.

One was nodding along with every caution he gave, every tip he provided, while the other sat furiously scribbling away in a little notebook, jotting down each and every word as if it were gospel.

Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee, troublemakers extraordinaire and with more guts than most Chunin.

' _This is gonna be interesting.'_

* * *

Another month had passed as the class was working on their first technique. Each year in the Academy focused on one technique, and after three years, you had to preform them all adequately enough in order to graduate and claim your headband.

It took a year for a single technique due to the face that the Academy was supposed to provide aspiring ninja with a basis in _everything_.

Not only did this mean the classic combination of taijutsu, weapon handling and ninjutsu on top of it, it also had to concern itself with more esoteric, but no less useful, shinobi aspects of life, such as code-breaking or poisons.

On top of that, since the Academy left no time for a regular pre-school, it also had to fulfill mundane duties, such as teaching them reading and writing, mathematics and history.

An illiterate ninja was a useless ninja.

So Naruto understood why they were taking a _whole year_ just for a single technique. Really, he did. It was just…

… too damned slow!

Training under a year under Gai, while monotonous at times, due to being focused almost solely on conditioning his body, had rather spoiled Naruto when it came to education. Sure, Guy had forced to keep up with his letters and numbers, but other than that it had been non-stop training day in and day out.

Something that Lee, once told about it, had almost salivated over.

And while he and his new best friend tried to hurry things along as fast as they could by sparring and training almost every waking hour, it still didn't feel fast enough for the hyperactive blonde.

Further fueling Naruto's sense of urgency, was Neji's success with the Henge.

Well… success might be exaggerating it a little bit.

Sometimes, certain aspects of the Henge would be hazy, or even transparent. Other times, and rather often at that, Neji's perspective as a child would mess up his proportions and size whenever he tried to do an adult.

Something Naruto took savage glee in in pointing out.

Only to be shot down by Neji's cool: "At least I managed to produce _something_ resembling the human form, and not simply swirls of chakra that flow around without function or purpose."

Which was true.

While Lee struggled to draw out any chakra at all to cover himself with for the technique, Naruto struggled with drawing out too much.

Way, way, _waayy_ too much.

Instead of a film, placed over his body in the form he wanted his Henge to be, Naruto unfailingly produced a thick sheen of chakra, sometimes (usually when he was frustrated) almost a foot thick.

While it had awed some of the other children with its sheer display of power, it only pissed Naruto off, which in turn made his control slip only further.

Which is why one day, standing with the other children on the field, Neji's mocking eyes boring into his back and his scary sensei looming over him, that Naruto gave in and snap.

' _Kami damn it all, why won't this just work!'_

' _ **Kit, if you don't stop your yammering, I will… well, I'm not sure**_ **what** _ **I'm going to do, but rest assured, the results won't be pretty.'**_ The great and feared Kyuubi no Kitsune replied, sounding for all the world as if he were just woken from his nap.

Which he probably was. In the year that Naruto had met the fox, he had found that the great demon slept a lot, though he always gave shifty half-truths and avoiding answers whenever Naruto asked about it. The best he could piece together was that he was leeching power of the fox, and the trauma of being sealed, as well as the energy required to actually talk to Naruto, meant that the fox was almost always tired, which was why it laid down almost all the time, even during the rare times Naruto visited him, something that piqued the interest of the Hokage (and that of several other shinobi).

Now however, it was definitely not sleeping, sounding pissed off at Naruto for being the cause of that.

 _´I can't help it! I keep taking too much chakra for the technique and I keep messing it up! I can't control it enough to take the little I need!'_

' _ **Then why settle for a little?'**_

'… _What?'_

A great rumbling sigh, which gave Naruto the feeling as if his brain was rattling around in his head.

' _ **You have an ocean's worth of chakra and you're trying to cram it down a tiny faucet. Instead, remove the faucet and simply work with the ocean you have.'**_

' _Okay… Okay, I'll try.'_

' _ **Try is going to get you killed. You need to**_ **do** _ **it.'**_

' _Right! I'm gonna_ do _it!'_

With that, Naruto furrowed his brow and reached for the chakra within him once again. This time, instead of drawing out a little to create a film over his body, he instead went straight to the source of his power and brought it to the surface of his skin.

He felt his chakra fill his body, even as his skin started to be enveloped in a slight blue glow. Not wanting to create a repeat of his previous attempts, he immediately went through the hand-signs for the Henge, a small part of him distractedly noting the flash of irritation when he noticed that it didn't go nearly as smooth and fast as Neji did it.

It was quickly shoved to the back of his mind as he stopped on the final sign, and called out the technique, while trying to envision the person he was Henging into down to the smallest detail.

"Henge!"

A thick cloud of smoke enveloped his form with a small 'poof!', obscuring him from view. His sensei, impatient to see the result of his most troublesome student (several Nara sneezed) he quickly blew away the smoke with a minor Fuuton technique.

Only to reveal the Hokage, staring down at him, lit pipe clenched between his teeth.

"Hokage-sama?! What are you doing here?!" the instructor blurted out in surprise.

He knew he had overstepped his bounds when the Hokage narrowed his eyes at him.

"Are you telling me I cannot be wherever I wish to be within my own Village, _Chunin_?" the aged leader asked dangerously.

"N-No, of course not, honored Hokage! I was simply surprised, you see, because-"

He was interrupted by the Hokage suddenly bursting out in great gales of laughter, stunning everyone there. Yes, their Hokage was an amiable and friendly man, especially to new recruits, but this? Several people started to get worried when their leader started slapping his knee and wiping tears out of his eyes.

"Aaaaahhhh, sensei, you should've seen your face!" the aged leader laughed.

"… Wait, what?" the instructor asked baffled, before a lightbulb sprang into existence over his head.

"Uzumaki… is that _you_?"

Before the surrounding people could laugh derisively at that (one Hyuuga in particular), the Hokage gave the teacher a thumbs-up and a grin.

"Got it in one, sensei, dattebayo!"

That more than anything, cleared the doubt from everybody's mind; only one person alive used that phrase, and they all knew who.

"I must say, Uzumaki, I'm impressed. The detail is incredible. You must spend a lot of time with Hokage-sama to get them all so spot-on." The instructor said, going over his student's Henge with a critical eye.

Everything was as realistic as could possibly be. The folds in the cloth, the line in the Hokage's face, even the liver-spots that covered it, why, even the shadow and the gentle flapping of the clothes in the wind-

"Uzumaki."

The word came out strained, as if the speaker was using a not inconsiderable amount of willpower to keep himself from shouting in hysteria.

"Yeah, sensei?", the pseudo-Hokage asked, tilting his head a little, making the hat slide askew onto his face.

"Lift up your hand, palm facing me."

"Sure."

The leader of Konoha did as was asked, staring at the instructor with anticipation written on his face. The teacher approached him slowly, cautiously, and raised his hand, bringing it closer to Henged Naruto's one, and gave the most gentle high-five in the history of high-fives.

"You're solid. You're actually… solid."

Naruto undid his Henge with an enormous grin gracing his face, sending Neji a smug look. It was quickly whipped off is face when he saw his sensei's shocked expression. A sense of foreboding overcame him, even as he could see Lee give him a thumbs-up from the corner of his eye.

"Uzumaki Naruto, come with me please."

Yep, this wasn't going to end well.

* * *

Hiruzen sat at his desk, elbows leaning on the smooth surface and hands folded in front of his face. His gaze shifted from the small boy fidgeting in front of him, to the Academy teacher standing next to child.

Had the situation not been as serious as it was, Hiruzen might've even cracked a smile at the way the teacher almost imitated young Naruto's fidgeting.

The situation _was_ serious though. Not on a level-threatening level, like when Naruto had almost ripped his body apart on accident, but nonetheless important enough to make him worry about the long-lasting consequences.

After listening to Naruto's tale, and asking for several demonstrations, which included the boy turning into various people and even _objects_ , Hiruzen had to sit down in disbelief.

At age 7, Naruto Uzumaki had created a solid transformation, changing his very form to whatever he wished it to be, be it humanoid, animal or even a simple object, with all the physical traits of that object or animal as well.

A quick test had shown that it luckily was only those attributes Naruto took on in his Henge; a quick transformation into Hiruzen had shown that he didn't possess any of his memories or skills and didn't even possess a similar amount, or even feel, of chakra that he did, still brightly projecting his own.

Still though…

' _If the other villages manage to make their Jinchuuriki manage a solid transformation as well…'_

Not only was it a security risk; while turning into an object, as Naruto had shown, didn't remove the amount of chakra the transformed shinobi naturally emitted. And while a skilled shinobi _could_ suppress this to a bare minimum, Jinchuuriki, with their vast amounts of chakra, would never possess the necessary amounts of control needed to suppress _that_ much chakra.

Even then, simply transforming into a hawk would provide unequalled surveillance options, not to mention it allowed any Jinchuuriki to position itself above an enemy village, release the transformation, plummet down, and proceed to spread mayhem and destruction.

He was jolted out of his dark thought by a soft knock at his door, before it swung open before he could give permission to enter. Another little power-play by Danzo, though the aged ninja didn't show any of his usual smugness.

' _Undoubtedly, he is already aware of the situation and it's consequences… even though Naruto's sensei brought him straight here. Which is basically admitting that he has spies at the Academy, and I can already guess why that is. What has taken hold of you, old friend, to act so hastily and openly?'_ Hiruzen thought to himself, even as he "explained" to Danzo what was going on, for Naruto and his teacher's benefit.

After he had finished getting Danzo up to date with what they both already knew, his rival showed his hand, and while his scarred face showed no emotion, his eyes clearly shone with smugness.

"Hand the child over to me, Hiruzen. If this gets out, no doubt he will become a target, if he isn't already – _they both knew he was_ \- and I can keep him safe from that – _they both knew he wouldn't_ \- within the anonymity of my organization. On top of that, surely you must see the sheer versatility and power this affords the boy? I can bring that to its full potential-"

"Thank you Danzo, both for your concern and advice, and for your offer. However, I share your concerns and have already taken steps to ensure both Naruto's training and safety, so your gracious offer will no longer be necessary."

Danzo narrowed his single eye at the Hokage, his face inscrutable.

"Oh? And may I ask, my old friend, what these steps might be?"

Hiruzen smiled, but it wasn't a nice one. It was grim and sharp, reminding everybody that beneath his grandfatherly exterior was, above all else, a weathered and seasoned ninja.

"No need, _old friend_. He's already here."

Precisely at that moment, two heavy knocks resounding from Hiruzen's office door. Waiting for just over a second, the Professor gave Danzo a pointed look, before calling 'Enter!'.

Into his office stepped the large form of Akimichi Chouza, Clan Head of the Akimichi, part of the Ino-Shika-Cho team, and father of Akimichi Choji, who was lined up to be part of the team's second generation.

And he was looking pissed.

"I have received your missive, Hokage-sama." The giant of a man, who almost reached the ceiling of the now suddenly crowded office.

"Thank you, Chouza. I trust you know why I called on you?" Hiruzen said, his voice soft and soothing, though his eyes remained two grey flints of rock-hard granite.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. You want me to take in Uzumaki, and teach him our techniques."

The Clan Head wasn't shouting, and his tone and posture remained as they should be when talking with the Hokage, but his rage over this slight against his Clan was clear to all, even to young Naruto. Not that it was entirely unjustified; Clan's hoarded their secret techniques as ferociously as others guarded bloodlines, and to have an outsider forced on them to teach him those techniques…

Wars had started for less.

Rebellions _had_ started of stuff like this.

Because of this, Hiruzen was quick to soothe the corpulent Akimichi.

"Not at all, my dear Chouza, not at all!" he chuckled, as if the ninja in front of him was a mere child who had come to an amusingly wrong conclusion.

It clearly put Chouza on the wrong foot, blinking in surprise at Hiruzen's tone.

"I'm not asking you to take him in; he'll still stay at his own house, and keep his own name and Clan. As for you teaching him _your_ techniques, why I would never ask that of you! All I ask of the valiant Akimichi is that they _assist_ young Uzumaki here while he tries to create his _own_!"

There was a short silence, as Chouza turned his leader's soft words over in his head.

"We won't be housing the br- boy, or teaching him our techniques? Just advise him?"

Hiruzen let the Clan Head's verbal slip-up go, for now, though he wouldn't forget. Instead, however, he plastered a smile on his face and nodded.

"Indeed, my dear Chouza. Now, what say you to this order?"

At that last word, the Akimichi tensed, as well he should. It was a subtle reminder, that though Hiruzen was willing to compromise to keep the Clan appeased, such as not demanding secrets passed down from generation to generation, his will would still be done, whether they liked it or not.

Konoha was still, after all, a dictatorship, and Hiruzen its dictator.

"Very well, Hokage-sama." Chouza bit out, giving a sharp and stiff bow.

Straightening he turned his thunderous gaze on Naruto's small form, making the child take a step back out of fear.

"Tomorrow, 6 o'clock sharp. _Do not. Be._ _ **Late.**_ "

With that, the Clan Head stomped out of his leader's office, though due to his weight this was usually the case anyway. Danzo smoothly glided after the irate Akimichi, his single eye giving Hiruzen a long and considering glance, before he too was gone.

Only Naruto and his sensei remained, the latter of which Hiruzen ordered to report to an ANBU mind wiper as soon as possible. While all the children who had witnessed Naruto's feat couldn't be wiped due to the danger to their young and developing mind, they also were too young to fully grasp the consequences of it.

Though a small squad of ANBU would be posted to keep an eye on their parents, should _they_ piece anything together from their children's descriptions, just in case.

Right now, however, Naruto was once again fidgeting in front of his desk, fisting his white shirt between two small fists. Undoubtedly the child was exited at gaining another tutor, but the thinly concealed loathing of Chouza had put a rather large dumper on that enthusiasm.

Not to mention it started to look like Naruto would be forced to leave the Academy for yet another year.

"Naruto. Naruto, please look at me." Hiruzen said encouragingly.

Slowly the child lifted his gaze to look his sort-of grandfather in the eye.

"It's going to be allright, okay, Naruto? I know you're not looking forward to losing another year at the Academy, but what you have discovered today is simply too great and versatile to simply ignore. We _must_ examine the limits of your technique, and see if there are any safety concerns. On top of that, the Akimichi are one of the greatest masters where transformation is concerned, they can help you become a lot stronger Naruto.

Well, the Inuzuka are rather proficient with transformations as well, of course, but they do not make the best, or most _patient_ , instructors."

Naruto perked up a little at the mention of getting stronger, but he was still clearly unsure about everything.

"Can me and Lee still train?"

"Of course, Naruto. Our comrades are our greatest strength, and it does me proud that you think of them before trying to make yourself powerful. But he cannot join you in your special training under the Akimichi."

This immediately brought down the loyal Uzumaki's mood, and it looked as if Naruto was preparing himself to put up a fight against being separated from his new friend.

So Hiruzen decided to sweeten the deal.

"Naruto, the reason why we must be so careful, is because you have done something that no one else has ever done before, not even the other Hokages."

At that, Naruto's head snapped up with an unbelieving grin.

"You, Naruto Uzumaki, have just created your very own, original technique." Hiruzen finished with a smile.

For a second, Naruto's faced slacked in complete bafflement, before his mouth stretched into a huge grin.

"YATTA! I MADE MY OWN TECHNIQUE! I! AM! AWESOME!"

Hiruzen simply laughed at the energetic blond, before raising himself out of his comfortable chair.

"Come, this event must be celebrated. How does Ichiraku's sound to you?"

The following yell of glee could be hear across the village.

* * *

 **Fun Fact:** Akimichi Chouza was one of the parents we see early on in the manga who voted for killing Naruto when he was a baby. Maybe not a 'fun' fact, but certainly one that impacted my storytelling once I found out about it.


	8. Conversations and Consipiracies

**Chapter 8 – Confessions and Conspiracies**

Lee sat patiently in an empty grassy field, his legs crossed and his eyes closed, his breaths slow and steady. While most citizens of Konoha would have balked at the sight of a non-hyperactive Rock Lee, the truth was quite simple;

Lee hated not training.

Every moment not spent sleeping or eating was a golden opportunity to seize your Youth and become even stronger than you are!

Which is why Lee was always busy, which also meant that he was also moving. Since having become friends with Naruto however, "moving" had turned into "run like hell, the ANBU are onto us, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!".

However, just because he didn't _want_ to sit still didn't mean that he _couldn't_ sit still. After all, there may come situations in his glorious and Youth-filled career where he had to wait very quietly for his prey to fall into his subtle trap, like the mighty panther, anticipating the flighty gazelle.

His hero didn't introduce himself as the _sublime_ beast of Konoha after all!

So, though it pained him to restrain his Youth, Lee sat and tried his hardest at being completely calm. He thought it was going rather well, until he heard a shuffling and moaning sound. The tell-tale sounds of dragging feet got closer and closer, yet Lee didn't move or open his eyes.

Eventually, there was a great heaving sound, and a soft 'thud!' as something fell to the ground next to him. With a faint smile and his eyes still closed, Lee addressed the newcomer.

"Hello to you too, Naruto-senpai!"

"Mumble-mumble…"

"Come now, do not say that about our comrades!"

"Mumble-mumble…"

"It just means that they believe in your great flames of Youth so much that they are convinced that you can take on all of their Jounin at once!"

"Mumble-mumble…"

"Truly? Well, did they at least feed you?"

"Mumble-mumble-mumble…"

"What was that Naruto-senpai? I'm afraid I did not quite catch that."

"I said 'mumble-mumble-mumble'!"

"Ahhhh, so no ramen again, huh, Naruto-senpai?"

And at that question Naruto burst out into uncontrollable wailing. Lee gave his comrade a sympathetic glance, before closing his eyes again. The blonde's love for ramen was well know, but the Akimichi had forbidden him from his usual consumption rate, instead limiting him to what a normal human might have.

Which, compared to Naruto's usual intake, was next to nothing.

"Look at it this way Naruto-senpai! All of the discomfort you face _now_ will only make you stronger later on!" Lee said, hoping to cheer his friend up.

Naruto, rivers of water still flowing down his face, nodded petulantly.

"I know, I know, and what the Akimichi normally make is _really_ good, like _amazingly_ good, but it's just not… _ramen_." the Uzumaki said, working himself to his feet and pacing in front of Lee.

Lee, recognizing that he wouldn't get any rest with his friend around, dropped out of his meditative pose, rose to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Are you at least progressing in your new jutsu?"

Technically, Lee wasn't supposed to know about Naruto's new technique. Unfortunately, nobody had remembered to tell Naruto that. So the first thing the very next day after ramen with the Hokage, the hyperactive blonde had bounded over to his friend, and had proceed to, in a single breath, blurt out that he had created a new technique that was super strong, but because it was so strong he had to train under the Akimichi for a year so they couldn't come to the Academy together anymore, but don't worry we'll still be friends, I promise, but I really have to go now or I'll be late and I don't want to be late or the big man will get angry at me, bye!

And then he had bounded off, leaving behind a confused Lee and a dozen frustrated ANBU, while an amused Hiruzen Sarutobi watched everything happen in his crystal ball.

So now Lee knew about the potentially game-breaking new technique that he wasn't supposed to know about. While he wasn't allowed to come with Naruto to his special training in the Akimichi compound, it didn't really matter, because Naruto told him everything that happened there anyway.

His friend's eyes lit up at his question, and he nodded so fast that Lee was worried he'd give himself a concussion.

"U-huh! We were finally moving on from persons today! I had to do animals this time! I was a really big bear-" _'poof!'_ "-and a wolf-" _'poof!'_ "-and a _really_ big hawk-!" _'poof!'_ "-and a pig-" _'poof!'_ "-but I didn't really like that one, because all of the Akimichi started looking at me real funny." Naruto said, turning into each animal as he said it, making Lee dizzy with the sight, especially since all of the animals kept talking with Naruto's voice.

Briefly squeezing his eyes shut, Lee opened them again to see that Naruto had changed from his talking-pig form to his regular form.

(Some of the more mean-spirited in the Village would say that there was no difference between the two, but those people always got pranked. _Always_.)

Lee was surprised to see a wistful expression on his friend's face however, as he stared at the cloudless sky ahead.

(A source of great consternation to many a Nara, because you can't go laze off to go cloud-watching if there were no clouds to watch in the first place.)

"I liked being the hawk, though. I felt… _free_." The blond mused quietly, making Lee wince in sympathy.

He knew his friend loved the village, though he loved some people in it a little less. The problem was that it was _very_ clear that, save for a few individuals, the village didn't love him. Yes, the ninja weren't all that antagonistic towards him, or if they felt that way, then they were professional enough to not let it show.

But most of the villagers looked at him with coldness and derision. He was never outright attacked or thrown out of stores, but everywhere he went, conversation would dry up, only to flame up right behind his back, loud enough that everyone knew that it was impossible for him to not hear their hurtful comments.

Yes, Lee could very much understand his friend's wish to be a bird, free up in the sky, with nobody or nothing around to tear him down.

"I bet they were very excited about the bird? If you can fly in that form, at least?"

Naruto nodded, though Lee could tell his friend was still in a little bit of a funk.

"Yeah, I get all of the stuff of the animals I turn into. When I was a bear, I was really strong, and when I was a wolf I could smell really well. We're probably going to train with the hawk and stuff and with the wolf for a while though. They're thinking about getting some Inuzuka on board, see if they can turn me into the perfect tracker/scout."

Lee nodded along, it made sense after all. While the physical strength of a bear may seem imposing, it still paled in comparison to most mid- to high-level shinobi. In a few more years, he'd be probably just as strong as a regular ursine.

But senses were still the hardest thing to train and even if you did, it was usually only one of the six. There was a reason why chakra sensors were so rare, after all.

But Naruto could simply _shapeshift_ his senses to be as high as he needed them to be, without years and years of training required. It was maybe not the most glamorous of abilities his new technique gave him, but those would come in time.

"Still, I guess the wolf one could be fun, I guess. At least it'll mean I get to work with the Inuzuka on that one. I pranked them a couple of times, and they were really cool about it."

The pack-mentality of the Inuzuka was well-known and it encompassed them to the very core of their being. It also meant that socially they still relied on that mentality. Which meant that for an Inuzuka, to some extent, the entire Village was pack, and pack took care of their own.

In their eyes, Naruto might be an Omega, the runt of the litter, but he was still pack.

Suddenly Naruto looked unusually thoughtful, cocking his head as if he was listening to someone, before letting out a laugh.

Confused, Lee warily approached his friend. Maybe the Akimichi hit him a little too hard in the head? They were physically the strongest shinobi amongst Konoha's forces, after all.

"Naruto-senpai, are you allright?"

"What? Oh, yeah, the furball was just bitching that the fox is the best animal there is-" slowly Naruto trailed off, his eyes wide and his skin pale.

"Senpai?"

"Oh no… oh no, oh no, oh no, this wasn't supposed to happen!"

"Senpai!" Lee cried out, stepping closer to his friend, who took a hurried step back.

"I can't…" Naruto struggled to say, looking as if he might hyperventilate at any moment.

"Tell me what's going on Naruto!" Lee said, stepping closer again, now truly worried about his friend.

"NO! No I can't… I can't…" the blond yelled, his hands fisted into his shirt, knuckles white with the strength he used as he clinged to the fabric, even as tears were starting to form in the corners of his eyes.

Making a split-second decision, Lee dashed forwards, gripping his friend tightly by the shoulders and forcing him to look into his eyes.

"Naruto! You can tell me, you can _trust_ me! I am, and will _always_ be your friend! That's a promise! You remember our nindo right?!"

Taking a step back, Lee gave Naruto the Nice-Guy-Pose-With-One-Hand-On-Hip-And-Extra-Sparkling-Smile-9000XTM (patent pending) and said their nindo aloud, for the world to hear.

"We _never_ break our promises!"

There was a very long pause, as Naruto, still looking like a spooked rabbit, scrutinized his friend, who didn't let up on his smile.

Finally, after what felt like ages to Lee, a small answering smile appeared on Naruto's face.

"Okay." He whispered, sinking to his knees, still huddled in on himself.

Lee went to sit beside his friend, hands clasped in his lap with an eager and open expression on his face.

"Okay, okay." Naruto said again, more to himself than anyone else.

Then he took a deep breath, and began to talk.

* * *

Around the same time, in the house of the Akimichi Clan Head, there was a nice dinner going on. Which wasn't really anything unusual, with them being Akimichi and all that; _all_ of their dinners were nice, or they were no true Akimichi!

However, while the food was absolutely excellent, the atmosphere was tense to say the least. The three Akimichi were all eating in silence, Chouza and his wife didn't look up from their plates, and their young son Choji was nervously looking between his parents, barely touching his food, a clear sign of distress within the Akimichi Clan.

That, or you were either on the verge of death, or already long gone.

Finally Choji's mother spoke up, her voice friendly, but firm.

"Dear, why don't you go to your room for now? Your father and I have some things to discuss."

With a hastily blurted 'Thank you!' the youngest Akimichi bolted, showing surprising speed for one so… _big-boned_.

With all pretense at having a dinner gone, Chouza put down his cutlery with a sigh, eyes closed. His wife, however, jumped right into the argument.

"Chouza, this can no longer continue! I know what you think of the boy, and believe me, I _understand_ why, I have felt the same as well! But one look at that hopeful face, those baby-blue eyes, and you have to admit that there's nothing of the fox in him!"

"I know."

"And one other thing! You-" As her husband's words seeped through the haze of righteous maternal anger, the Akimichi matriarch was brought to a grinding halt, ladle still held aloft like a legendary weapon of old.

"What?" she asked, confusion clear in her voice, though she didn't drop out of her battle-stance, even when the ladle began to drip gravy onto her pristine white table-cloth.

Knowing with the accumulated wisdom that came from being married for over a decade, Chouza knew better to point it out, or to laugh, smile or grin at his wife's antics, lest she use that ladle on _him_.

So he simply repeated himself in a calm voice.

"I know that Naruto Uzumaki is not the Kyuubi reincarnated. I know that now."

"Oh." His wife said, blinking a few times in surprise, before setting herself down.

"What convinced _you_ all of a sudden?"

At that, Chouza rubbed his chin in thought.

"I dunno, really. I mean, I was a _tad_ bit harsh on the boy in the few months we taught him-" here Chouza dutifully ignored his wife's unladylike snort, "-but he just kept on getting back up. And not because he was angry or something, but because he wanted to train. He believed, with everything he had, that if he got back-up just one more time, tried to get it right one more time, that that would bring him one step closer to being Hokage. And after a while, I started to believe it as well."

Smiling softly, his wife came to her feet and rand a calloused hand through his spiky hair.

"So, what happens now?"

At that Chouza sighed deeply.

"Now we start him on our techniques as well. Not the actual ones, mind you, those are Akimichi secrets and they will _remain_ Akimichi secrets. But teach him the theory at least, how to use it battle and stuff like that. We step up the animal-shapeshifting training to mythical creatures as well, while drilling him in his flying forms. Get an Inuzuka on board to deal with the extra senses when he shapeshifts into a tracker form or something. We're going to start dealing with this seriously and professionally."

"Good." His wife smiled lovingly, a smile which Chouza gladly reciprocated.

' _SMACK!'_

"AU! Kami-dammit woman! What was that for!?" the Clan Head yelled indignantly, rubbing his forehead with a wince.

"Hmpf! Because it took you _two_ _months_ to see what I saw on day _one_! And you completely forgot that you're going to apologize to the poor boy! Baka!" his wife threw over her shoulder, as she stormed towards the kitchen, chin held high.

Grumbling under his breath, Chouza turned to go to the living room, only to see that Choji was already standing there, having come to check up on his parents after having heard all of the commotion.

"Hey there, son! Everything's alright, no need to worry your little head about anything at all, promise!" Chouza said, waving his hands in front of him, smile firmly on his face.

"Dad? Why is there a ladle-shaped red mark on your forehead?"

Briefly Chouza opened his mouth, retort ready to leap from his mouth, before he simply deflated. Today had been long enough, what with personal revelations and smacks to the forehead and all that, he simply didn't have the energy anymore to come up with a reassuring response.

Trudging towards the couch, he briefly rested his heavy hand on his son's head, his voice weary and full of hard-gained wisdom.

"You'll understand when you're married son."

* * *

Night had fallen over Konoha, the moon high in the sky and all of its citizens peacefully asleep. Well, most of its citizens. One Hiruzen Sarutobi was fully awake, and dressed for battle, though it was concealed by his wide ceremonial robes. He was tense and he didn't bother to hide it. Depending on what would be uncovered tonight, terrible decisions would have to be made, for the future of Konoha, and its citizens, lest it all fall to ruin.

From the many shadows that lined the underground bunker only he was aware of (he had built it by himself only last week after all) fell a dark shape to the floor behind Hiruzen, straightening itself to show it to be a tall man, his face concealed behind a porcelain mask, a stylized salamander painted on the white ceramic.

"Report!" Hiruzen barked harshly.

They did not have the luxury of time. They needed to act both fast and very, very carefully, a situation that put the hairs on the back of his neck on end.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. As per your orders, I have created a covert ops group within ANBU with only those whose unquestionable loyalty I completely trust in order to investigate the Kyuubi's allegations of an Uchiha controlling him during his attack, 9 years ago. Among these operatives, are two Uchiha."

Hiruzen felt ice cold dread coil in his gut, his face going white in shock, though the ANBU-Commander didn't see it, for the aged Hokage had had his back turned to him for the entire conversation.

' _Salamander… you didn't…'_ Hiruzen thought with grief deep in his bones.

"Their names are Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui. They are young, but they are talented and their loyalty to Konoha is absolute."

 _´You did.'_ Hiruzen thought, closing his eyes.

"Where are operatives Itachi and Shisui, Salamander?"

"Right here sir."

And with that, two more blobs fell from the ceiling, revealing themselves to be to young boys, though both had hardened eyes.

Steeling himself, Hiruzen turned around and started setting up Operation: Insight.

"Report." He said, his voice gravelly.

It was clear that Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken a backseat. They were now being addressed by the Third Hokage, the Professor, the God of Shinobi.

Itachi was the one to speak first, his voice flat and cold, not fitting with his youthful appearance.

"Lord Hokage, due to my position as Clan Heir, I have been able to discern more about my Clan's plans than my cousin, Uchiha Shisui, though I wasn't allowed full insight into their scheme. What I do know, is that there is a lot of dissatisfaction amongst the more prominent of our shinobi forces, and they hold secret meetings, away from the rest of the Compound and the other clan members. My parents are among them, Lord Hokage."

"You believe them to be the leaders of these meetings, Uchiha Itachi?"

"I cannot say with certainty, Lord Hokage. They might be the leaders of these meetings by their own will, but it could also be that because of my father's position as Clan Head, they were forced to attend. To not do so would surely divide the clan, and instigate a rebellion."

"And what do you think that they are discussing in these meetings, Uchiha Itachi, based on the morale and general feelings amongst your fellow clan members?"

"As I've said before, Lord Hokage, I wasn't allowed full insight into the plan, as I was barred from attending the meetings, so I don't know-"

"I'm not asking you what you _know_ , I'm asking you what you _think_."

…

"I think they are trying to instigate a rebellion, Lord Hokage."

Again Hiruzen closed his eyes, and turned away, hand briefly resting against his forehead. What were they thinking?! This was _their_ Village too, one of their kin had founded it, for Kami's sake! Did they not see that a rebellion would only bring death and pain to Konoha?!

' _I'm too old for this. Far, far too old for this. Oh Minato, if only I had died on that fateful day, and that you may have lived… but no. In the end, I think you would be too soft… to do what must be done. I wonder, which one of us makes that the better Hokage?'_ the aged leader mused to himself, sadness weighing heavily on his shoulders, as well as what he was about to do.

"Uchiha Itachi. Uchiha Shisui. You are hereby ordered to infiltrate the secret meetings of the Uchiha Clan and report all of your findings directly to me. ANBU Commander Salamander will brief you on any information you think you might need to know, and has a taskforce at his disposal. It is now at your disposal as well. Should you, for any reason, need an extraction, his men will provide it. Bear in mind, however, that this is a black ops mission; if you do end up needing a distraction, then Konoha will deny any involvement with your actions. You, and those of ANBU who are identified as helping you, _will_ be labeled missing-nin, and _will_ be pursued with the full might of the law. Uchiha Shisui, you are to make use of your unique dōjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, and influence the leaders of the meeting to consider a peaceful resolution. Since your eyes are crucial in keeping this situation contained, you will be guarded by ANBU, chosen by Salamander, to guard your every waking hour, and any other hour as well.

Do you accept this order?"

The silence that followed Hiruzen's speech was deafening, and the aged ninja swore he could hear his blood rushing through his veins as loud as a horse stampeding next to his ear.

Finally, it was broken when both boys stood as one, one fist clasped to their chest as they bowed their heads.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" "Hai, Hokage-sama!"

"Dismissed."

And with a flash, they were both gone, retreated into the shadows from where they had come. Only Hiruzen and Salamander remained. The ANBU Commander remained kneeling however; he could tell his leader was not yet done.

"Have you been able to verify the Kyuubi's claim, Salamander?"

"No, Hokage-same, though it _is_ starting to look very likely. The Uchiha themselves certainly think it's likely, and we have on record that Madara has managed such a feat before."

"And yet, the Demon Fox claimed that it was an imposter, who released him on that fateful night."

"Indeed sir, which is why we are now combing through all of the MIA reports that involve the Uchiha. Given the Uchiha's indignant anger at the accusation, I find it more likely that someone outside of the clan in the culprit."

The Third Hokage hummed in thought, eyes narrowed as a sharp intelligence, honed by decades upon decades of war, tried to look at the problem from every possible angle, searching for the opportune place to strike.

"Keep the members within the clan under surveillance. Coordinate with operatives Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui as necessary. Extend your search to MIA reports that even remotely involve an Uchiha, even if the missing person in question is not an Uchiha himself. Hatake Kakashi is a perfect example that you don't need their blood to use their eyes. Also comb through all of the KIA reports on Uchiha's."

"The KIA reports, sir?" the Commander asked, surprise clear in his voice, even as his expression was hidden beneath his mask.

"Grave robbing, as distasteful as it is, is a practice we should not dismiss out of hand, Salamander. See it done."

"At once, Lord Hokage!"

"Dismissed."

With that final order, the Third Hokage left, and Hiruzen Sarutobi came to the forefront once more. While old, it was only now that he looked truly ancient, his face lined with not age, but grief, his back not bent due to frailty, but due to the immense weight that was placed on the old man's shoulders.

The ANBU Commander rose from his kneeling position, before standing around awkwardly.

Eventually he loudly coughed into his hand, drawing a faint smile from his aged leader.

"Hokage-sama… you have said before that I have permission to be frank with you, sir…"

"Speak Salamander. There is no one who can overhear us within these four walls, I assure you."

"Right. Thank you sir." The ANBU Commander nodded, before falling silent again.

After an awkward pause, the Commander coughed into his fist yet again, before speaking up in a nervous tone.

"You did the right thing, sir."

"Did I? Did I really?" Hiruzen asked heavily, his voice paper-thin.

"Yes, sir. No matter how distasteful these actions may seem, they ensure that Konoha survives." Salamander said, conviction clear in his tone.

"Yes, they will. But will Konoha _live_ because of this?" Hiruzen asked, as he turned away from the Commander, beginning a long walk home.

"Sir?"

"Forget about it, Salamander. Ignore the ramblings of an old man, with far too many regrets weighing on his mind. Good night, Commander."

…

"Good night, sir."

* * *

It was 6 AM, the sun haven just risen above the mountain range lining Konoha, bathing the sleepy Village in beautiful hues of red, gold and orange. As he had for the last two months, Naruto Uzumaki was standing in front of the Clan Head of the Akimichi's house, hopping from one foot to the next in anticipation, full of positive energy after his long talk with Lee.

Which had ended rather anticlimactic, if he were honest. After hours and hours of poring his heart out, Lee had simply sat there, looking at him with those weirdly round eyes of him. Finally it had become too much for Naruto's frayed nerves, and he had exploded.

* * *

" _Well?!"_

" _Well what, Naruto-senpai?" Lee asked, his face confused, those ridiculously round eyes blinking in incomprehension, those massive eyebrows furrowed in distress._

" _Aren't you going to insult me?! Call me demon?! Call me freak?!"_

" _Naruto-senpai! Friends do not call each other that! And they don't allow them to call_ themselves _that either! It's most unYouthfull."_

" _But… I have the Kyuubi within me. He's… he's probably the reason why you're an orphan. Aren't you mad?"_

 _Again those round eyes blinked in confusion, Lee's tone completely honest._

" _Yes, I am vexed with the Kyuubi no Kitsune. But why should that mean I cannot be friends with you?"_

" _Because… well,_ because _!"_

 _Suddenly, Lee had sprung to his feet, dragging Naruto up by his shoulders as well._

" _Naruto-senpai, I have_ promised _you I would forever be your friend, and as is our nindo, I will_ never _break that promise. And that is all there needs to be said about that! Now, let's leave these dreary thoughts behind us! There is still sunlight, and you know what that means!"_

 _And with that, Lee ran off… on his hands._

" _YOOOOOOUUUUUUUTTTHHHH!"_

 _Naruto stood there in shock for a few seconds, before an enormous grin broke through on his face._

" _Lee! Wait for me! Hey, wait up!"_

 _He didn't stop smiling for the entire day._

 _Or the one after that._

* * *

So now he was standing in front of the Akimichi Clan Head's House, in a very good mood and eager to start the day, no matter what it might bring.

Yes, training with the Akimichi was grueling, and sometimes, when they were discussing theory, extremely boring, but it was totally worth it. The first couple of times Naruto had changed into adults had been very cool to the small boy; being tall was awesome! He was _so_ going to do that more often!

But the blonde had really been reinvigorated when they allowed him to try various animal forms, even those that were smaller than his regular form (of which there weren't many, unfortunately) and should thus have been impossible.

But, apparently having a Greater Demon in your gut allows you to blatantly ignore the laws of thermodynamics, and so Naruto had been happily soaring around as a hawk, despite that form being several sizes smaller than he was.

He hoped that they would allow him to try flying forms today as well; flying was the most freeing experience in the world, to young Naruto's mind, and over the centuries he wouldn't be alone in that opinion.

There was _someone_ , however, who disagreed.

Vehemently.

' _ **This is an outrage! This mindless mongrel of a human has within him the Greatest Kitsune of all,**_ **imprisoned** _ **, and what does he do with my**_ **gracious** _ **gifts!? Trick people!? Upset nations!? Sow confusion wherever he goes?! NO! HE WANTS TO BE A BLOODY PIDGEON!"**_

' _A_ hawk _! And I do plenty of tricking-'_

' _ **I AM NOT DONE YET! So, the boy wants to be an animal, because of the**_ **freedom** _ **it gives him. But does he seek freedom in running over plains?! Does he seek freedom in the chase of prey, in the flight from predators?! Does he seek freedom in the form of a fox, the most cunning and majestic of all animals?! NO! THE FOOL DECIDES HE WANTS TO GROW FEATHERS INSTEAD!**_ **FEATHERS** _ **! I'll have you know, you ungrateful little-'**_

With a mental sigh, Naruto closed the connection between him and the fox. It had taken a lot of thinking on Naruto's part (okay, mostly on Jiji's part) but they had come to the conclusion that if the fox didn't lie, then they could essentially answer every question they had.

They had to be very careful with how they voiced their question of course; the fox was old and wiley and spotted loopholes where they didn't even think to look. One very impressive deceit on the Demon's part had them wandering just about the entirety of Fire Country, only to end up back in Konoha again.

All without it ever telling a single lie.

However, one of the earliest questions had been very carefully worded, composed by both the Hokage, Danzo (for who better to ask to manipulate a manipulator than another manipulator?), Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi.

It had basically boiled down to; "Can Naruto control whether or not he can hear be influenced by you?"

Though the answer had been a disappointing 'no', they had still managed to wheedle out of the fox how Naruto could cut off the connection between the two of them, effectively shutting the Demon up. The best part was that the connection could only be opened again on Naruto's side, so no occurrences anymore where the Demon would butt in at the most random of moments.

It had saved Naruto a lot of grief when the fox had been in a particularly ornery mood, and decided to pester him because, honestly, what else could it possibly do inside a prison inside his gut? Ever since the shape-shifting had come up though, had the fox been more antagonistic than usual, tending to go on long rants whenever Naruto appeared to take joy in another form than that of a fox.

Apparently it was a point of pride amongst all Bijuu, who were all patrons of sort to the animals they shared appearances with.

Never, _ever_ , eat beef in front of the Hachibi.

Or squid, for that matter.

One time, Naruto had shut the fox up mid-rant, done his training for the day (getting smacked around by shinobi five times his size and ten times his weight) and had reopened the connection, only to hear the fox _still_ going strong on the same rant.

Naruto was taken out of his musings when the front door opened. He immediately smiled; he couldn't help it, to him, this was the best part of the day.

"Oh Naru-chan! How nice to see you so soon! Come here!"

And with those words, Naruto was swept up in a bone-crunching hug from the Akimichi matriarch, every joint in his body popping alarmingly.

"Oh dear! You are so thin! Tut tut tut, we can't have that now, can we? Come in, come in! I'm sure we have left-overs _somewhere_ in the house!"

Without being able to offer a word in protest (not that he would have even if he could) Naruto was bodily pulled into the Akimichi Clan Head home. As far as home's went, it was rather… homey. No armors on the walls, great and legendary swords on the coffee-table, no piles of skulls in the corner, taken from fallen enemies.

All in all, it was all very mundane.

Naruto _loved_ it.

He was quickly shoved into the kitchen by the strong arms of the Akimichi Clan Head, smiling as he saw Choji sitting at the dining table, gorging himself on a heavenly meal, as were all meals prepared by the Akimichi clan. The rotund boy briefly looked up, gave a happy wave, and went back to stuffing his face.

He and Choji had eaten Choji's mom's food together multiple times during Naruto's tutelage under the Akimichis. To Choji, this made Naruto practically clan, and the heavy-set boy was always bright and cheerful when meeting the blonde.

The other Akimichi sitting at the dining-table, however, was an entirely different story. Absolutely massive, even by Akimichi standards, Chouza Akimichi was the largest person that Naruto had ever seen.

He also didn't seem to like Naruto much.

It was only because Naruto _knew_ how much damage a Jounin could really do (thank you, itching powder in ANBU-underwear!) that he knew that the large man was holding back during their fights, but it certainly didn't feel like it.

Snapping to a sharp salute (after seeing Gai laughing at his earlier attempts, he had forced his impromptu teacher to drill him in the correct ones), Naruto nodded determinedly.

"Uzumaki Naruto, reporting for training, Lord Akimichi, sir!"

While usually this would've been answered with a mere grunt, this time only silence met him. Studying him with a critical gaze, Chouza addressed his son without turning away from Naruto.

"Choji, why don't you go to your room for a little while? There are a few things I need to discuss with Naruto here."

The young Akimichi sighed, shoved his chair away and grabbed two drum sticks in each hand as he stalked out of the kitchen, his face set in a pout.

"Again? Sheesh."

Chouza waited until Choji's steps faded from hearing, before focusing his heavy gaze on Naruto again, who nervously gulped, still standing at attention.

"At ease."

' _Did… did he sound…_ amused _?'_ Naruto thought in shock, before warily loosening his stance.

There was a pause in the kitchen, the only sound the ticking of a clock on the wall, and the bustling of Choji's mom as she was puttering around in the kitchen. It was suddenly broken by the gruff voice of Chouza.

"I voted to have you killed, you know. When you were a baby."

Naruto gaped at the man in shock, before warily taking a step back.

"The Akimichi… we don't really do too well with ranged attacks. We like to get in close. As you can imagine, getting close to a Demon… it doesn't really end that well. I lost a lot of people in the Kyuubi's attack, and those that didn't die…."

Chouza paused, before shifting in his seat, making Naruto nearly bolt out of the room altogether. He was taken off guard however, when he saw the Chouza was lifting up his heavy mail shirt. What he saw made his mouth fall open in shock.

An angry red scar, covering almost the entire side of Chouza's torso, a long streak stretching over his large belly.

Seeing that he had Naruto's attention, the Clan Head chuckled bitterly, before letting the shirt drop again. He continued talking, his eyes distant as he recalled painful memories.

"Apparently, Demon chakra is poisonous. I didn't know that then. I do know it now. It wasn't enough that the bastard almost took out my entire guts, no, he had to go and poison me too. God I hate that damned fox. I hate him for what he did to me. I _hate_ him for what he took from me."

At this, Chouza clenched one massive fist, and closed his eyes in pain.

"I hate him for _who_ he took from me."

In the silence that followed, Naruto felt absolutely lost. He didn't know whether he had to fight, flee or just cry like there was no tomorrow.

All three options were looking rather good at the moment.

"And then you came along. This tiny little thing, a slip of a human. And the fox was inside of you, out of my reach, free of my revenge. Oh, I know that I could never kill the bastard on my own, so much for vengeance and justice, I guess. But at the time… with my home in ruins… my family dead… my guts only kept inside my body by my hands, some wire and nothing more than hope and dreams… god, I wanted to get the bastard back for everything he did. Hurt _him_ , just like he hurt _me_.

But, you were in the way. An innocent babe was all that stood beneath us and the demon who in one night had completely destroyed our lives. I guess some part of us recognized that _you_ weren't the fox himself… but an even greater part just didn't care. We wanted to have our vengeance, and if that meant that a baby had to die, then so be it. What was one more child on the mountain of children that were already lost to us?

But, the Hokage intervened. Made the knowledge that you were the Kyuubi's jailor an S-Rank secret, and we were told to just… get on with our lives. Just like that. And in the meantime, you grew up, and every single day, when you walked around the village where the demon inside of you had rampaged not so long before… it was as if the fox was still taunting us. A last laugh from beyond the grave. You kept shouting that you would become Hokage, but did it ever cross your mind that people might see that as the ultimate joke from the fox? It comes into our village, destroys our homes, rips our loved one's away from us and the only consequence is that its jailor gets to sit on the throne of whatever's left."

Naruto felt something wet slide down his cheek. Confused, he lifted a hand to his face, only to draw it back, glistening with wetness.

' _I'm crying?'_ he thought, surprised.

Chouza didn't notice however, caught up in memories long past and grief that had never truly healed.

"So, one day, the Hokage asks me to come to his office, and dumps this kid… this innocent kid that I have been hating for almost ten years… right in my lap, and tells me I am to teach him my clan techniques. Techniques that have been in my clan for ages, passed down from generation to generation, techniques members of my family have given their lives to protect… and I was supposed to just teach them to you! Just like that!

So I got angry. Again. And I focused that anger on you. Again. And for that, I… I am, _truly_ sorry, Uzumaki Naruto. In the two months that you have been here, you have taken all of my unjust abuse with nothing more than a smile and a determination to do better next time. If you were blood of my blood, I would have hailed you as a prodigy, Naruto. As it is, your drive to succeed, your will to _never_ give up… it has shown me the errors of my ways.

I know now that you are not the Kyuubi, Naruto. You are a hero, that keeps us safe from it every single day and night. You keep it from doing to Choji what it did to me… and I thank you for that."

With a heave, Chouza straightened himself to his full height, his spikey hear almost brushing the ceiling, before he performed a deep formal bow.

"Uzumaki Naruto, can you forgive me?"

* * *

 **Fun Fact:** Kakashi used to have a slogan. During earlier drafts of Naruto, Kakashi would end his sentences with "gozaru," a polite and old fashioned mannerism.


	9. Omake 2 - Choji's mom

**AN:** I know that this chapter is ridiculously short, but it came to me when I was in the bus and I had to write it down immedeately before it slipped away. You can concider this part of chapter 7 if you want :)

* * *

 **Omake 2 – Choji's mom**

It had been a long day, training under the Akimichi, and young Naruto was absolutely exhausted. All day long had been nothing but testing out different forms, and trying to see how well he could fight in them. Needless to say, the moment the Akimichi matriarch had called that it was dinner-time, Naruto had been one of the first to bolt out of the training field.

An impressive feat, considering his company.

Wiping the sweat of his brow with a towel helpfully provided by Choji, Naruto looked up as Choji's mom bustled around in the kitchen, preparing a meal that could easily feed a large family.

Or just three Akimichi.

"Hey Choji." Naruto asked suddenly, drawing the rotund boy out of his day-dreaming as he stared at his mother cooking.

"Yeah, Naruto?"

"I know your Dad's name is Chouza, but what's your mom's name?"

Choji simply blinked a few times in surprise, looking at Naruto as if the blonde had just managed to ask the dumbest question physically possible.

"She's called Mom. Duh."

This time it was Naruto that blinked in bewilderment.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Watch. Hey, Mom!"

At her son's call, the Akimichi matriarch looked up from her cooking, a friendly smile on her face.

"Yes dear?"

Turning to Naruto, Choji gave the Uzumaki a smug look.

"Told ya."

* * *

 **Fun Fact:** For the longest time, I didn't know my parents names. They were just Mom and Dad to me. So one time, somebody asked me and my Mom where Wim was. I had no clue who that person might be, so I asked my Mom. As it turns out, Wim is my Dad's name. Looking back on it, that had to be the weirdest conversation my Mom ever had.


	10. Training and Traitors

**AN:** Sorry this took so long, but it was rather difficult to pick up where I left off from last chapter. Originally I was going to progress a lot more down the timeline with this chapter, but then both parts just kept on getting bigger and I decided to cut it off. Hopefully it'll mean that it won't be too long before the next update comes in :)

 **[Edit 10-1-2016]:** Just some cosmetic changes, nothing to see here, move along people.

* * *

 **Chapter 8 – Training and Traitors**

The feral looking boy carefully crouched behind a thick bush, eyes with slitted pupils warily taking in the dense forest around him. His hands, tipped with claws instead of fingernails, were curled beside him, ready to lash out at his target at the merest hint of its presence.

Sweat dripped down the boy's brow, rolling over the triangular tattoos on his cheeks, but the child didn't move from his stance, afraid that he'd give away his position to his illusive enemy. He sniffed the air, but even though his nose was many times more sensitive than that of an ordinary civilian, he still wasn't experienced enough to confidently pick up a trail as mixed up as that of his opponent's.

He and his enemy had been both prey and predator for a couple of hours now, and their scents were everywhere in the thick forest, and intermingled to boot. Growling softly at yet another handicap, the boy shifted a little on his feet, his sharp eyes desperately scanning his surroundings for a glimpse of his companion.

' _With_ _Akamaru by my side, I could've pick up that blonde bastard's scent easily.'_ Kiba Inuzuka thought to himself, annoyed that he had lost his best friend early on during the hunt, which had quickly dissolved into this cat-and-mouse game.

' _And I hate cats.'_ The boy thought, before carefully making his way to a thicker, larger bush moving on all fours, the movement coming as easy to him as walking upright did.

A rustling from a couple of feet to his left made him whirl around and jump towards the sound, a battle cry coming from his lips as he grinned savagely, showing off pointed canines glinting in the low hanging sun.

' _I got you now!'_ he thought triumphantly to himself, only to try and halt his moment in mid-air, because stumbling out of the bush, looking disoriented and disheveled, fell his trusted friend and companion, the puppy Akamaru.

Regrettably for Kiba, however, was that he wasn't a proficient Fuuton user and thusly couldn't control his movements while in flight. The result of that unfortunate fact, was that the flying lad ended up flat on his face, his feet pointing nearly straight up at the sky above.

With a groan, the young Inuzuka extracted himself from the head-shaped hole, and quickly grabbed the (formerly) white puppy in his arms, squashing it against his chest. Akamaru barked happily and gave Kiba's scratched up face a few licks.

"Oh, I'm so glad I found you, Akamaru! I was getting worried that that blonde asshole did something to you!"

Akamaru gave an affronted bark, as if the mere idea that someone would've been capable of overpowering _him_ was ludicrous at best. Kiba laughed at his puppy's defiance, before hugging it once more to his chest.

"I know, I know, but still. That guy is tricky, before you know it he'd have you walk in to some kind of trap…"

Kiba trailed off, as stumbling out of another bush, came _another_ Akamaru, looking just as disheveled as the first one had been. An awkward silence fell in the clearing as the boy stared at the two identical looking dogs with a completely shocked look on his face.

' _The sun must be getting to me… I think I'm seeing double…'_

The two puppies began madly barking at one another, each one accusing the other of being an imposter and that Kiba should attack _right_ now, before it was too late! Kiba looked from the dog in his arms to the one standing a few feet away, before his expression hardened, and he whipped out a kunai-

"OUCH!"

-and stabbed it towards the dog in his arms. The fake Akamaru jumped clear of his arms, surrounded by a poof of smoke when he landed, revealing a blonde boy with three whiskermarks on each cheek and metallic-looking bandages wrapped around his hands and forearms.

"How did you know it was me?" Naruto asked with a grin, showing elongated canines of his own, though they weren't as pronounced as most of the Inuzuka's were.

Kiba straightened from his crouch, Akamaru quickly bounding over at his side, growling at the blonde as he did, while the feral boy started flipping the blunted kunai up and down in his clawed hand.

"You can change your form to that of Akamaru, but you didn't change your scent." Kiba replied with a toothy grin of his own.

Naruto frowned at the answer, obviously berating himself in his mind, before a disgusted look crossed his face.

"You _sniffed_ me?" the blonde asked in a horrified voice.

Kiba and Akamaru simultaneously face-vaulted, before Kiba pointed an accusing finger at the still somewhat bleak looking Naruto.

"You _licked_ my face!"

Naruto simply looked affronted at that, turning up his nose with a haughty scoff.

"Of course I did! I had to act like Akamaru didn't I? Admit it, you were totally tricked by my transformation!"

"Like hell!" Kiba jumped up at that, before taking out another practice kunai, Akamaru lowering his stance next to him.

"I'm gonna pay you back for that you bastard!"

Naruto cracked his knuckles, his grin firmly back on his face, as the wind picked up around them, throwing around leaves and ruffling their hair and clothes.

"You sure you're up for that, Dog-Breath?"

Kiba's features seemed to grow even more feral, as he crouched low, the kunai held loosely in his hands. Most Inuzuka didn't really bother all that much with weapons due to their role as trackers, and their close-range fighting style; usually their claws, teeth, and ninken were more than sufficient for tearing the enemy to ribbons.

Unfortunately, Akamaru was still too young and small to really function as a close-combat companion and Kiba wasn't proficient enough with chakra yet in order to harden his claws enough for them to be useful in a fight.

Blunted kunai would have do to, for now at least.

"Hell yeah, I'm up for it! You can't use your chakra cloak, remember?! Choji's dad said so!" Kiba yelled gleefully, expecting to knock the blond down a peg or two.

Naruto simply grinned as he settled in a very sloppy Goken-stance, one that would make Gai cry (and had in fact done so on numerous occasions in the past) as he made a 'come-hither' motion with one hand.

"Who said I'd be using that technique?"

And before Kiba could question the cryptic statement, Naruto shot forwards, one bandaged fist cocked back. Despite the fact that the fist was obviously not covered in swirling chakra (and considering this was _Naruto_ , there was no need to fear that the fist was secretly strengthened with a little charka anyway, as Naruto didn't do _little_ ) Kiba still reacted reflexively, having seen Naruto's shroud in action several times before.

He crossed his arms in front of him as he jumped back, but he was taken by surprise when Naruto didn't let the punch fly as he had expected, but instead was suddenly covered by a thick shroud of smoke. And from the shroud burst something that made Kiba's eyebrows disappear in his messy hairline as his mouth fell open in shock.

"Oh come on! That's just not fair!"

Because where mere moments before had been a small blonde child, was now a gigantic monstrosity, bearing down on his jumping form. And as Kiba had painfully experienced just a short while ago, it was _very_ difficult to maneuver in mid-air.

The horrifying beast appeared to be a cross between an oversized direwolf, and a bear on steroids, with glistering fangs that shone from a drooling maw large enough to swallow him whole. Akamaru, his brave and trustworthy friend, threw himself at the monster without even a moment's hesitation, utterly fearless in the defense of his friend and master.

Unfortunately, Akamaru, no matter how courageous, was still a puppy, and even as he bit down on the thick fur of Naruto's new form, it still barreled on, not even noticed the slight weight of the small dog now trailing behind it as an odd sort of flag sticking out from his shoulder.

Naruto, or what used to be Naruto at least, jumped at the airborne Inuzuka, who couldn't do anything but close his eyes and tightly hold his kunai out in front of him. In his mind, he could see those monstrous jaw get closer and closer, about to snap down on him, trapping him between those glittering teeth-

 _SMACK!_

"UZUMAKI!"

-before he could hear Naruto's form give a strangled yelp, as both he and the monster crashed into the forest-floor. Opening his eyes, Kiba saw the enormous beast lying flat-out on the ground, holding its head with two oversized clawed paws, each one about as large as the average ninken.

Standing over Naruto's prone (and whining) form, stood Chouza Akimichi, his hand outstretched from where he had given Naruto a slap upside the head.

Said Uzumaki transformed back into his regular form with a poof of smoke, clutching his head with a wince.

"Damn sensei, you hit real hard, ya know?!"

Chouza snorted, steam coming from his nostrils.

"I know gaki; you keep whining about it with every chance you get!"

Naruto sprung to his feet at that, head-trauma forgotten as he pointed an accusing finger at the Akimichi Clan Head.

"Only because _you_ hit me with every chance _you_ get!"

 _SMACK!_

"Shut up gaki! I don't even know what you're talking about!

' _But Akimichi-dono… you_ just _did…'_ Kiba thought with a sweat-drop as he stared at prone form of Naruto, who was now sporting an impressive bump on his head.

"And besides that, Uzumaki, you deserved a slap upside the head! What have I been teaching you for the past year?!"

With a groan, Naruto sat back up, rubbing his abused head with a wince, even as he reluctantly answered the mountainous Clan Head.

"Animal forms are not for battle." The Uzumaki said unhappily, but if the Akimichi noticed, he didn't say anything about it.

"Exactly! You are a shinobi; unless the Inuzuka deem you ready for Beast Combat, you'll fight like one! However, that being said, it _was_ a clever move, transforming yourself into your opponent's familiar: considering that most nin-companions are usually smaller than the average human, it will be something that very few ninja will expect, as only your unique Henge allows you to transform into something smaller than you're regular form. Be wary of using it on higher level shinobi however. It worked on Kiba, because he can't sense chakra to save his life-" "Hey!" "- but a Jounin, or even a mid to high level Chunin? They'll notice something's up the moment you come close enough. Can you tell me what else you could've done better?"

Naruto worked himself to his feet, and dusted himself off, as Kiba gladly let Akamaru jump into his hands, both of them tired and dirty from the intensive exercise.

"I shouldn't have waited?" Naruto hazarded, prompting a nod from Chouza.

"Correct. The moment young Kiba took you in his arms, you should've struck! And not with your beast form as you just did either! Tell me, what should you have done?"

At this, Naruto worried his lip between his teeth, his face scrunched up in thought as he tried to look at their sensei's question from every possible angle. Kiba turned away from the blond in order to sooth and groom a ruffled Akamaru; he had seen this post-training discussions a couple of times now, and there wasn't really anything new for him there.

Chouza always trained Naruto into the ground, and then would ask the boy whether he knew what he did wrong, and what he should've done instead. While the Akimichi Clan Head would always tell the blonde if he was right or wrong, he never told him outright what the correct answer was, wanting Naruto to develop a more tactical mind.

Unfortunately, while Naruto could be very tricky in his fights, he didn't really do all too well with proper tactics and strategies; he was much better at coming up with a plan on the fly, keeping his enemy on the wrong foot, and eventually make him second-guess just about everything in his surroundings.

A rather memorable training exercise had pitted both Kiba and Choji against Naruto, who had permission to use every trick, prank and misdirection he could think of, but wasn't allowed to engage in direct combat.

Kiba had been paranoid about checking his bed and clothes for itching powder for _weeks_ after that.

However, none of those tricks had been planned out beforehand; in fact, there had been a couple of traps that hadn't really gone off properly, as Naruto hadn't had the required components prepared for the test, despite having been told of it the day before.

Now, while Naruto wasn't exactly _stupid_ , he had also had an incredibly rough and lonely childhood, and wasn't really all that academically inclined. Which meant that these post-training discussion tended to drag on a bit, as Naruto quickly became frustrated and confused with the complex strategies that Chouza tried to instill in him.

It was a good thing that the Clan Head had as much patience as he was large, or otherwise Kiba had a feeling that Naruto's head would be sporting _a lot_ more bumps and bruises.

As it was, however, these discussions meant that Kiba had a short break for about ten minutes, which he used to play with his closest friend, who loved the attention and the chance to relax for a little while.

"I should've used my weapons?" came Naruto's hesitant voice.

"A possibility, yes, but can you say with _absolute_ certainty that you would have been fast enough, or strong enough, to force Kiba into surrendering? Do not forget Akamaru either; he may seem small right now, but in a few years, he'll be large enough for Kiba to ride. You sure you want to risk a knife fight with someone when you have a trained ninken of that size at your back?" Chouza's deep voice replied patiently.

Kiba smiled down at the puppy in his arms at the comment about him riding Akamaru into battle. He couldn't wait until his friend had reached that size, but until that time, he was perfectly content with allowing the tiny dog to hitch a ride on his head.

"I should've incop… incapa… restrained him?"

" _Incapacitated_. And how would you do that?"

"Transform?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling?"

"Uzumaki…" Chouza said, his voice stern.

"Telling. I'm telling you I should've transformed."

"Okay. In what would you have transformed?"

"Something to bind him with. Rope?"

"You know that your senses are heavily muted when you transform into objects. If you were to transform into rope, then how do you know that your enemy won't signal for help, or grab for a weapon?"

"So I transform into a rope with eyes… I transform into a snake!"

Kiba could see the Akimichi Clan Head grimace at that, before giving a slight nod.

"A good idea, but try to avoid using it within Konoha for as much as you can. After the betrayal of one our best shinobi some years ago, snakes have gotten a somewhat bad reputation, I'm afraid."

"Like foxes, huh?"

Kiba frowned at the odd question, even as he scratched Akamaru in _just_ the right spot, the one behind his ears. Sure, foxes weren't all that tolerated within Konoha, at least, not since the Kyuubi attack, but it wasn't as if every fox in sight was lynched on the spot or something. At most some stones were thrown at the crafty scavengers, but otherwise they were left to their own devices.

So why did Naruto sound so sad when he asked his question?

"Aye. A bit like foxes." Chouza said in a subdued tone, before clearing his throat.

"Now, the reason why a snake is a good idea for restraining someone is the fact that they simultaneously act as a threat to your captive; snakes can easily poison or crush whatever is in their grasp, so if your enemy has back-up in the form of, say, a ninken, or even fellow shinobi, then the threat of a snake will allow you some breathing room.

Now, why don't you show me a snake-like form that you could use to restrain an enemy shinobi? Remember, you can transform in anything you can think off, it doesn't need to be an _actual_ snake."

"Ossu!" Naruto barked, as he pulled off a crisp salute.

With only the barest hesitation, Naruto flew through the hand-signs required for the Henge, intimately familiar with them after nearly a full year of training, before he was surrounding by a cloud of greyish smoke.

Kiba worriedly noticed that the cloud was rather large. Easily twice as large as him, in fact. Then, a small breeze blew away the obscuring smoke, and Kiba suddenly perfectly understood the fear most civilians had for snakes.

Because, sitting in a large heap of coils in front of Chouza, was a scaly horror that Kiba just _knew_ would bring him nightmares for about a week or so. The snake-like thing was incredibly thick, with some coils thicker than Kiba's body, and as it reared up it easily towered over the Akimichi Clan Head, who himself was the largest man that Kiba had ever seen.

It's head only faintly resembled a snake, covered as it was in a veritable mass of horns and spikes. And that was just one of the many heads that swayed in front of Chouza, countless yellow eyes staring unblinkingly at the enormous Akimichi.

Naruto had transformed into a hydra, and while the multitude of independently moving heads were unnerving in their own right, there was still the body of the snake. Every few feet, it sprouted what appeared to be a smaller snake of its own (though smaller was subjective here; they were easily thicker than Kiba's thigh) creating a mass of pseudo-arms. With all of them writhing as they were, Kiba could see that they looked more like tentacles than snakes as he had thought at first glance, with the suckers lining the underside of each one and with the boneless-looking curls and turns they were making.

It also was covered in blaring orange high-lights.

Chouza stared for a long moment at the sinuous being in front of him, before he closed his eyes and pinched his nose with a sigh.

"Uzumaki, it's only the fact that you currently have more than one head that I'm not giving it a smack right now, simply because I have no idea which one of them I ought to smack in the first place."

Naruto's head (or at least, those that were facing in their sensei's direction, at least) all tilted simultaneously, much like Akamaru would do when he (pretended) not to understand something.

In the puppy's case, this usually involved commands like 'sit!', 'stay!' and 'No! No peeing on the bed! Akamaru, stop that right now!'.

"What'sss wrong sssensssei?"

Chouza's eye twitched, as a tick-mark formed on his forehead.

"One: cut it out with the fake snake-speech. It's overdone, and one of the worst clichés out there."

Naruto sadly ducked all of his heads at that.

"Yes, sensei." He said sadly.

"Two: WHY ARE YOU ORANGE!?"

At that, Naruto reared up defensively, all of his heads turning to face Chouza, who had gained another tick-mark, and a rather impressive shade of red on his face.

"Well, I had to compromise with the furball _somehow_ , right?"

"Hey! Akamaru didn't say anything about your freaky transformation, you bastard!" Kiba yelled, protectively cradling the puppy against his chest.

He had to use all the willpower he had in order not to show the chill that went down his spine when over half a dozen pair of large yellow eyes swiveled around to stare at him unblinkingly.

"Can you actually _see_ out of all of those heads?" Kiba asked with morbid curiosity, even as he unconsciously backed up a step.

"A good question, Kiba. Well Uzumaki? How operational are those additional eyes of yours?"

Immediately, a few of the transformed Naruto's eyes swung back towards Chouza, while the rest remained fixed on Kiba, much to the feral boy's distress.

"Yes, I can see out of all them. I can even taste smells now… which is _so_ weird, by the way." Said the head closest to Chouza, an odd expression on its scaly face.

"I can also talk with all of them. They're all completely functional." One of the heads facing Kiba suddenly spoke up, almost making the young Inuzuka yelp in surprise.

Chouza seemed completely at ease with the snake-like horror in front of him as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"That's interesting information. I'll be sure to put that in my report to Hokage-sama. Hmmm, Uzumaki, please turn back into your human form. I wish to test something."

Around eight nods answered his request, before Naruto changed back into his human form, which brought a sigh of relief from both Kiba and Akamaru.

"Right, I want you to form additional eyes on your body, gaki. An eye in your forehead, the back of your head, your hands, wherever you can think of."

Naruto frowned at the request, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his dirtied pants.

"I'm not sure I can pull off small transformations like that, Sensei. It might not work if I try to do more than one at the same time, or use too much chakra than the little I need."

"Then simply use more; transform your entire body, but transform it into _your_ body, this time with more eyes than usual."

Naruto furrowed his brow, before he grinned and started running though the hand-seals.

"That might just work!"

And with a familiar poof of smoke, Naruto transformed yet again. But this time, instead of a monstrous beast standing in his place, there was now simply the form of the small Uzumaki, appearing unchanged at first glance.

For a split-second, Kiba thought that Naruto had messed up the Henge and hadn't transformed, but then the blonde raised a hand…

… with a sky-blue eye blinking from its palm.

Kiba had only realized he had screamed when he heard its echo sounding back to him, as well as both Chouza and Naruto turning to look incredulously at him, the latter with about four or five eyes, randomly placed on his face.

"What? It just… caught me off-guard, is all." The feral boy coughed into his fist, a blush lighting up his tattooed face brighter than the sun.

"Really? I turn into a gigantic snake monster _and_ a gigantic wolf-bear monster, but you scream when I still look like me?" Naruto asked affronted, placing his fists on his hips (and thankfully hiding the extra eyes from view).

"Just goes to show that your regular face is ugly enough, bastard." Kiba shot back almost automatically, as he resolutely stared at a spot that was anywhere else but Naruto's multitude of eyes.

"Heh, I guess I walked right into that one, didn't I?" the other boy admitted with a rueful chuckle, before Chouza cleared his throat.

"Uzumaki, the eyes? Can you see through them?"

In response, the blond lifted his hands (smirking at the way Kiba flinched at that) and turned his head a couple of times, before lifting the transformation again (smirking even wider when the Inuzuka couldn't quite contain his sigh of relief).

"Yep, I can see through all of them just fine, Sensei!"

Chouza nodded, his brow furrowed in thought, though his expression was pleased.

"Just as I suspected. I thought as much when we discovered that you can transform your sense of hearing and smell. It was only logical that you could transform your other senses as well."

The Akimichi patriarch clapped his hands, making both boys jump in surprise, before he turned on his heel.

"Right then, let's call it a day! I'll still have to add both of your new transformations to my report Uzumaki, as well as our discovery about how you can further change your sensory input. Kiba, I think your mother would like to hear about today's training as well, so you better head on home too."

Both boys cheered at that, giving whoops of joy, and trading each other high-fives, as Akamaru yipped in happiness-

"And where do you think you are going?"

-before Chouza's voice crashed into them like a bucket of ice.

Without removing the bucket.

"We're going home, right? With you, right?" Naruto asked hesitantly, though Chouza's gleeful expression made sweat break out on both boys faces.

"Going home? Well that's entirely up to you. As for going with me… well, we can't have that, now can we? After all, today's exercise was meant to train Uzumaki with his possible tracker-forms, now wasn't it? So, in order to train those, you'll just have to _track_ your way home. Good luck!" the Clan Head called out with an eye-smile, as he flew through a couple of hand-seals, before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

A shocked silence fell over the clearing, as both Kiba and Naruto stared at the spot where their sensei had stood mere moments ago.

"Hehehe, say, Kiba, you know the way back to Konoha, r-right?" Naruto asked with a twitching eyebrow and a strained smile as he turned towards his fellow trainee.

"Hehehe, I was rather hoping that you remembered it, Naruto, which you do, r-right?" Kiba answered, his expression mirroring that of the blonde.

For several long seconds, both boys stared at each other, before Akamaru gave a sad whine. At once, both of them snapped, and the forest was shaken by a yell of despair.

"OH, YOU HAVE _GOT_ TO BE SHI-"

* * *

Shisui desperately tried to control his breathing as he stared at the opponents in front of him. It was only his skills as an ANBU operative and talented Sharingan user that had allowed him to survive the first hectic seconds of the ambush that had taken him completely by surprise.

Even as he stared at the assailants as they were revealed by the moonlight, he had trouble wrapping his head around their identity. While he had never seen two of them before (somewhat worrying, as his position within ANBU and the photographic memory provided by the Sharingan meant that he knew the faces of just about every ninja employed by Konoha, voluntarily or otherwise) but the third figure was all too familiar to him.

"Danzo…" he growled, as he gripped his tanto even tighter.

The aged advisor to the Hokage seemed completely unbothered by being recognized by one of Konoha's loyal ninja's, and hadn't even bothered to disguise himself in any way, not so much as a simple mask to conceal his face.

It either meant that he had been authorized in his actions, which was worrying… or that there wasn't a single shred of doubt in the man's mind that he would be able to keep Shisui from talking, which was absolutely terrifying.

Danzo may be old and crippled, but those things meant less in the shinobi world than they did in the civilian world, and the aged man had been apprenticed by Tobirama Senju himself, the Second Hokage and brother to the First Hokage, who had been the mightiest ninja in the history of Konoha, and arguably even that of all the Elemental Countries.

So if he thought that this fight would be a breeze, then Shisui was pragmatic enough to throw away his pride and admit that the old man was probably right.

"What do you want, Danzo?!"

Surprisingly, the advisor answered his question, his tone even and calm, as if he were simply discussing the weather, and hadn't just tried to murder him on the spot.

"I know that you were ordered by Hiruzen to use your Kotoamatsukami on the leaders of the Uchiha Coup. I also know that the use of that technique is extremely limited, with a _very_ long cooldown."

"So what?! If I use it on the leaders of the Coup, then we'll avoid any bloodshed! We'll avoid a civil war, we'll avoid a World War!" Shisui challenged, desperately hoping for back-up that he knew wouldn't come.

"Avoid war? Ha, the naivety of your youth is reflected in that ridiculous argument. Avoid war, you say? Our world _is_ war, boy, and I will see Konoha come out on top of all of them!" Danzo barked harshly.

"No, there are… other means, that will allow for the pacification of your rebellious clan. Your eyes, however… now _those_ I have a use for. To influence anyone you can lay your eyes on… world leaders, Daimyo's, Hokages, and you wanted to waste it on some upstart Uchiha brats!" the advisor continued heatedly, before his scarred face smoothed itself out into an emotionless mask once more.

"Uchiha Shisui, by order of I, Shimura Danzo, ROOT shall now take your eyes, and use them for the betterment of Konoha. I could command you to not resist… but we both know that whether you resist or not will make no difference in the end."

As the aged ninja spoke, he took out an ordinary looking kunai from within his wide robes, while his two companions took up battle-stances behind him. Shisui eyed the diminutive blade warily; while a kunai on its own wasn't all that impressive, Danzo had been a Fuuton user of some renown before he had retreated to the shadows, and any weapon, no matter how small, was unbelievably deadly in the hands of someone who could control wind to the degree that masters such as Danzo could.

' _This is the end, then. This is where I die… to think that my death would doom my own clan, because I was killed trying to save them… but perhaps… I can get to Itachi in time.'_ Shisui thought subdued to himself, accepting his fate as a true shinobi should and raised his tanto in front of him.

With a sudden burst of speed, Danzo shot forwards, streaking towards the Uchiha with an agility that belied his crippled appearance. It was only Shisui's Sharingan that allowed him to position his tanto to catch the deadly blade made from pure wind-

 _CLANG!_

-when something blocked Danzo's path, another tanto holding back the advisor's weapon. The sounds of battle reached Shisui's ears, and a quick flick of his spinning eyes showed that the squad the Hokage had assigned to watch him had engaged Danzo's bodyguards.

One of them appeared to be slumped over, as an ANBU in a Hawk-mask suddenly turned on its fellows, while the other was desperately trying to tug off his gloves as he tried to both evade his attackers, and stay close to the defenseless body of his comrade, which was already sporting a few cuts from when he had been too slow.

All of this he registered in less than a second, time slowing down to a crawl before the might of his eyes, before he looked back towards Danzo and the ANBU who had saved his life. Salamander, Shisui's Commander, traded blows with the Hokage's advisor at a speed that seemed fast even to his Sharingan.

The Commander's style was both smooth and brutal, flowing from one strike to the next without pause, raining down blows on every part of Danzo that was within range, not hesitating to augment his attacks with punches and kicks, or even a jutsu within clashes.

However, while the Commander's style was smooth and brutal, Danzo's style was _just_ brutal; short stabs and slashes, each one without wasted energy, each one interrupting whatever attack the Commander tried to get off. The aged ninja showed its greater experience in the underhanded way he fought, forcing the Commander into weapon-locks, allowing him to spit windblasts from point-blank range, and combining jutsu with close quarters combat with a flawlessness that made Shisui realize just how dangerous decades more of experience could be in ninja fights.

However, despite the clear gap in skills, Shisui didn't even hesitate for a second to jump into the fight, using his Sharingan to keep out of his Commander's way, while trying to abuse every opening he could spot. While using the Sharingan allowed his skill level to quickly rise to match the two formidable fighters, he still had a long way ahead of him if he ever wanted to match them in experience as well.

This was shown best when he had thrown a flurry of shuriken at Danzo, his Sharingan showing him the exact moment his Commander would disengage in order to dodge a windblast right before it happened. The plan had been to engage with a Shunshin under the cover of the shuriken, allowing him to get in close, and cut Danzo down where he stood.

Countless times before he had used his pin-point accuracy with the Shunshin in order to get close to his enemies, and countless times he had taken his enemy unawares, allowing for a quick kill, even against the most skilled of ninja.

Danzo wasn't taken unawares.

Mid-shunshin, his Sharingan negating the tunnel effect that came with the high-speed technique, Shisui could see in clear detail how the aged advisor disengaged from the ANBU Commander with a spat windblast, while _simultaneously_ altering the flow of the air around him without even using hand seals, making the shuriken fly harmlessly past him without the need to dodge, as he turned towards the exact spot where Shisui would land-

 _SLAM!_

Pain.

Pain radiating from his side as he looked up at the moonlit sky above him, his thoughts completely scattered. Slowly he tried to sit up, hissing as his (probably) broken ribs flared in protest. He blurrily looked at where the various fights were raging, distractedly noticing he had been flung away dozens of feet from the warzone.

He could see several ANBU lying on the ground, their purple coloring making it obvious they had died, while the ANBU with the Hawk-mask was pinned to a nearby tree, impaled with several tanto, kunai and shuriken, while three of her colleagues lied dead at her feet, most of them slashed to pieces, the wounds obviously coming from her Fuuton jutsu.

However, the renegade ninja that had controlled her had been slain in turn, if the burnt out husk was anything to go by. The other traitor ninja was still alive, his purple hands showing how he had killed the other ANBU, but the surviving ones had learned quickly, and were keeping their distance, some reading throwing weapons, while other were flying through hand-seals.

The purple-handed ninja didn't try to flee because of two reasons;

One, Shisui, as out of it as he was, could pick up the labored breathing from the ROOT traitor, a clear sign of the shinobi's utter exhaustion.

Two, he was missing a leg.

However, the more important fight was still going strong, between Danzo and Salamander. It was immediately clear what had happened at the end of his ill-fated Shunshin; a spire of hardened earth stood jutting out from the forest floor, its tip blunted at the very last moment.

Apparently, his Commander had summoned an earth spear and smashed Shisui out of the way of a kunai that would have ended his life then and there, if its location from where it was still sticking out of the spear was anything to go by.

His Commander hadn't come away from saving his subordinates life unscathed though, as there was now a long diagonal cut in his porcelain mask, thin rivulets of blood streaming from it, covering the Salamander motif in a vivid red under the bleak moonlight.

Despite the grievous wound, the Commander had given as good as he got, since there were a few noticeable cuts in Danzo's robes, while he bled from some unseen wounds, staining his clothing in a blotched crimson.

However, even as the remains of the ANBU squad managed to finally kill of the purple-handed traitor, Danzo managed to strike his final blow, ending his own fight.

Blood must have seeped into one of the Commander's eyes, since when Danzo dashed to his left, while throwing a wind-enhanced kunai to the right, Salamander focused on the kunai for just a second too long, not seeing Danzo until it was too late.

In a single smooth motion, the advisor reached into his robes, took out another kunai, covered it in wind-laced chakra, extending the blade several feet, before swinging itself upwards…

… straight through Salamander's left arm, cutting it clean off at the elbow.

"NOOOO!" Shisui roared as he struggled to get to his feet, but the life-saving damage that his Commander's spear had done was too extensive, and with a cry of pain he fell back down.

To Salamander's credit though, he gave no more than a grunt at the injury, before shooting forward and head-butting Danzo in the face, shattering his own mask, while the advisor's head snapped back, a stream of blood coming from his broken nose, while the bandages flew clear from his face, exposing the gnarled ruin of what once used to be his eye to the world.

Danzo immediately kicked the ANBU Commander back, and drew back the enhanced kunai, clearly intend on cleaving Salamander's head clean off his body.

He swung-

"Kawirami!"

-and beheaded an ANBU with a Goat-mask, who at the very last second had replaced himself with his Commander, who was quickly caught by the remaining black ops ninja.

Danzo nodded approvingly at the action, clearly impressed with the shinobi's fearlessness and willingness to die for the mission, before he turned to look around at his remaining foes.

They were in a sorry state, Shisui supposed; many of his fellows had been caught off guard when one of their own had suddenly turned on them, and the ninja that had remained consciousness had clearly used an unknown technique, if the number of bodies were any indication.

Those few that had survived were all in bad shape, with him and the Commander being the worst off, with a crushed ribcage and one limb short, respectively.

However, Danzo wasn't looking too good himself; even though he was one of the most skilled and experienced ninja in Konoha, he was also one of the oldest, and his age was starting to catch up to him. Add to that, that Salamander had been quite skilled in his own right, and the aged ninja was looked rather worse for wear.

His face looked horrible, with a completely crushed nose, and with his missing eye exposed. While his wide and dark robes hid most of his wounds, they were still ripped in numerous places, and were completely stained with his blood. The advisor's stance was slumped and his breathing harsh and ragged.

Apparently, Danzo himself noticed this as well, because he appeared resigned when he turned towards the prone Shisui, his kunai loosely in hand.

"I may perish here… but I _will_ succeed in making Konoha strong! And it will only grow strong in war; peace will only make us weak. So, while I applaud both your skill, and your misguided loyalty to Konoha, I'm afraid it will end here, Uchiha Shisui."

And with that, he threw the kunai at the prone ninja, before he used the momentum of his swing to take out another kunai, before he lengthened it and made to swing at the grouped together ANBU, who refused to abandon their Commander, and instead made to shield him with their body.

"ENMA!"

"Right!"

Before he could even start his swing, he was struck in his belly by a large staff, which rapidly extended itself, carrying the advisor clear off his feet and _into_ the rocky ledge behind him. While this happened, Shisui's Sharingan barely managed to catch a figure simply snatching the wind-infused kunai by the handle (the one part not sharpened by the technique) before turning it around and throwing it at the prone form of Danzo, striking him in the shoulder, and pinning him to the wall.

Danzo didn't even so much as grunt, simply slumping forwards in defeat (for as much as the kunai in his shoulder would allow it, that is)

"I agree, Danzo. Tonight it ends. But it ends, for _you_."

A wistful smile played around Danzo's chapped lips, the desperate and repeated use of his Fuuton-jutsu having damaged them to the point of bleeding.

"Ah, Hiruzen, _my old friend_ …" the traitorous advisor rasped, his voice pained from the weapon still embedded into his shoulder.

Shisui looked up in awe as his Hokage, clad in full battle regalia, stood in front of the huddled ANBU squad, while a second Hokage stood in front of Shisui, having saved his life by catching the kunai aimed at his eyes.

The one in front of him, quickly turned into a puff of smoke, revealing itself as a Kage Bunshin, while the one holding the staff currently pinning Danzo against the wall turned to look over his shoulder.

"Salamander, thank you for your excellent services tonight. Konoha is both proud and privileged to count you amongst its numbers. Go, return to your base and receive medical attention. By my order, no expense shall be spared in saving your life; tell the medics that they'll have to retrieve Tsunade herself, if that is what it takes."

With a weakly muttered 'Hai, Hokage-sama' the Commander, whose face was still hidden from Shisui by his comrades, was flashed away, leaving only Shisui, the Third Hokage, and a secured Danzo.

"Uchiha Shisui, report!"

Despite his pain and possible concussion, Shisui immediately answered his Hokage. The aged leader was brimming with fury and power, and his voice had shaken the young Uchiha more than any of the multiple near-death experiences he had had tonight.

"Hai Hokage-sama! I was on my way to where the Uchiha gather to plan their coup, intending to use my Kotoamatsukami to convince their leaders to agree to a peaceful solution, sir. However, on route I was intercepted by Shimura Danzo and two ninja's I did not recognize. When I asked about the meaning of this, he attacked me, and it was only because of my Sharingan that I didn't die, Hokage-sama. I asked why he was doing this, and Shimura Danzo revealed that he did not wish for a peaceful solution with the Uchiha, but wished the power of my eyes for himself."

"I wished that power for the betterment for _Konoha_ , you brat!"

"SILENCE!" the Third Hokage roared, shaking the ground beneath them, as Enma dug itself a little further into Danzo's stomach.

"When will you _learn_ , Danzo?! The Konoha you fight for: IT DOESN'T EXIST! IT IS A KONOHA WITH YOU AS ITS HOKAGE, AND YOU WILL SACRIFICE _ANYTHING_ TO SEE IT HAPPEN! DO YOU DISPUTE THIS?!"

Instead of answering, the pinned advisor simply glared at his former friend, even as more and more blood seeped from the deep wound in his shoulder.

" _DO YOU DISPUTE THIS?!_ "

Danzo coughed, spitting out blood, before he defiantly lifted his scarred chin.

"I wished for a strong Konoha, Hiruzen. If that means that it needs to be led by me, instead of you, then so be it."

"And what would you have made me do, had you claimed Shisui's Kotoamatsukami? Well? What atrocities would I be forced to give my consent too, were it you that controlled my thoughts, hmm?" the Third Hokage almost whispered, his body shaking with restrained fury, great and terrible enough it had destroyed entire armies in the past.

Danzo kept silent, but couldn't contain the brief flicker of his eye towards the prone Shisui, who was watching this confrontation between living legends with wide eyes and halting breath as the Hokage chakra pressed down on him.

"I see. With Shisui dead, a confrontation with the Uchiha would be unavoidable, and breed the conflict you so crave. And whatever I would try to do, in order to achieve peace, you would veto, bringing your own dark schemes to the fore. And I would have no choice but to agree. Tell me, Danzo, what were you planning to do with the Uchiha, when they were all dead? Take their eyes as well?"

Danzo spat out some more blood, now looking decidedly bleak from all the blood-loss, but his voice was still strong and his one-eyed gaze still steady.

"Whatever do you mean, Hiruzen-"

"DO. NOT. LIE TO ME!" the Third Hokage roared, before Enma was pulled back, and smashed into Danzo's abdomen… once… twice… three times, each hit shaking the ledge the advisor was pinned to, each strike accompanied by a strangled gasp and the sound of breaking bones.

"We found the graves, Danzo! All of them!"

' _What graves?'_ Shisui wondered, but he kept his mouth shut, cowed by the sea of rage almost visibly swirling around his leader.

"T-then you f-found the one t-that was e-empty as well." Danzo replied through pained gasps, fixing his rival with a baleful glare.

For just a second, it seemed to take the aged leader aback, before his face twisted in an ugly snarl, as the rage came back twice as hot, Enma digging even further into the traitorous advisor's mangled body.

"The Kyuubi-"

"The Kyuubi?!" Danzo yelled back, before he was interrupted by a coughing fit, splattering the front of his robes wet with blood.

"You would trust the Kyuubi on its word?! You would trust the judgement of _demons_ before your own?! _This_ , Hiruzen _, this_ is why Konoha will always be weak with _you_ as its leader! Konoha _needs_ me if it wants to be strongest of all the Villages, _and I will plunge the entire world into an eternity of war to see it happen!_ " Danzo roared, blood and spittle flying from his mouth.

At once, all of the fight left the Third Hokage, as he suddenly retracted his staff, letting Danzo drop into a heap on the ground, before tiredly leaning on it.

"I see now, what I have made myself blind against for far too long. You _cannot_ be trusted with the safety of Konoha, and in the end, will only bring ruin to it and its people." The aged leader said with a pained and tired voice.

Danzo appeared as if he wanted to protest, but instead started choking on his own blood pooling into his mouth.

"Shimura Danzo, hereby do I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, brand you a traitor, to its people, to its beliefs, and to its Hokage. As executing you now would bring an instability that would only harm Konoha even further, I order ANBU-operative, Uchiha Shisui, to use his personal jutsu, Kotoamatsukami, on you, to force you into solitude and to make you retreat from any and all positions you may hold, both in and outside of Konoha. After a month, you will quietly pass into the next world, and a brief ceremony will be held, explaining that your advanced age, alongside an old injury, have led to your death. May it be so."

Danzo was now screaming in fury, spitting out blood even as it flowed into his mouth. The Third Hokage turned to Shisui with a sad expression on his face, even as he approached him and crouched down next to him.

"Can you stand, operative Uchiha Shisui? Your Village has need of you."

That last sentence, spoken with an utter conviction, revitalized Shisui in ways that he didn't think were possible anything outside of a personal visit of Senju Tsunade herself. It wasn't that his pains or injuries were eased or lifted, but instead, he found a fire inside of himself, a fire that allowed him to grit his teeth and bear those pains and injuries, because dammit all, Konoha _needed_ him, and as a shinobi of Konoha, he would _always_ be there for his Village.

With a pained grunt, Shisui worked himself to his feet, swaying as he did so. The Third Hokage quickly supported him, allowing the young Uchiha to lean on him for balance. After gasping for breath, Shisui managed a tired salute, even as he half-hung of his leader.

"It appears so, Hokage-sama."

The aged ninja smiled sadly, before gently walking him towards the incapacitated Danzo. It was clear that the advisor was trying to get away, but one of the many strikes of Enma had probably broken his spine, as his legs did little more than twitch at his frantic movements.

With a gasp, Shisui sunk to his knees, so he could look the traitorous old ninja in the eye in order to use his personal technique. Danzo, in a desperate fit of strength, spat out the blood in his mouth, staining Shisui's clothes even further, before snarling at the young Uchiha.

"Uchiha Shisui, I, Shimura Danzo, order you to stop, _right now_!"

Shisui stilled, before slowly glancing to their left. Confused, Danzo followed his gaze, his remaining eye widening when he saw a cut off arm, lying not ten feet away from them. Shisui bend a little closer to Danzo, his shattered ribs screaming at him in agony, though his voice remained level as he addressed the traitorous ROOT leader for the last time the latter would be aware of it.

"I don't take orders from you. I take orders from _him_."

And with that, Shisui's Sharingan morphed from its three spinning tomoe into a four-pointed pinwheel, activating his Kotoamatsukami.

And Danzo screamed.

* * *

 **AN:** I hope you liked both Naruto's first steps towards experimenting with his shape-shifting and Shisui's fight. I'm a little worried that Danzo is a little too OOC, especially during the end, but then again, this is a Danzo who has yet to complete most of his schemes that we see in the anime. I dunno, you tell me :)

 **Fun Fact:** Asuma's cigarette is never lit in the official American version. Like Graves, this guys just can't get his cigar... or, you know, cigarette in this case. Whatever.


	11. Omake 3 - An Identity Revealed!

**Fake AN:** I don't want to spoil anything, so the actual AN will be at the end of the chapter.

* * *

 **Omake 3 – An Identity Revealed!**

Naruto was humming happily to himself; he had just completed another fruitful day of training with the Akimichi, and because the Clan Head Family had to go to some fancy meeting or other, he was left to take care of his own dinner.

Which meant; Ichiraku's!

Oh, it had been too long for the young blond since he had sampled the greatest gift the gods above had graciously seen fit to send down to their unworthy mortal world! And he wasn't talking about those small, bite-sized portions the Akimichi Matriarch forced him to eat either!

No sir, he was a young boy! He needed his delicious ramen to grow tall and strong, didn't he? About seven or eight bowls should do.

His face stretched into a wide grin, showing off too-large canines as the heavenly aroma of the best food in the world hit his nostrils. With a great swing of his arm, he flung away the flap that hang in front of the ramen-shop, his eyes closed in happiness as he announced his presence to the people inside (and everybody outside of the shop as well).

"Good evening, Old Man Teuchi! Ayame-neesan! The usual please! Let's start off with three bowls and see where the night takes us, shall we?"

Rumbling laughter met his ears, as he walked to his seat in front of the counter.

"Coming right up gaki! Though, for sake of the wellbeing of both myself and that of my shop, I have to ask; will there be any irate Akimichi mothers showing up on my doorstep, demanding my head for feeding you too much?"

Naruto waved away the old chef's concern away with an impatient hand, taking his seat and reaching for a nearby pair of chopsticks.

"Meh, Choji and his parents had to go out of town for tonight, so I can eat all I want, dattebayo!"

He looked up with the grin as he heard Teuchi laugh at that, before the chopsticks clattered out of his hand, his mouth falling open in shock.

"Old Man... _WHERE'S YOUR ARM?!_ "

* * *

 **AN:** So, as Salamander's impact on the story grew I realized that he needed to be fleshed out more: there needed to be more than just a mask to the ninja, there needed to be someone underneath it as well. I struggled for a long time with the identity of the ANBU Commander. I was at first heavily leaning towards the father of Konohamaru, who had been only "mostly dead" all along, but suddenly this idea burst into my head, and I just had to go with it. No worries, I'll flesh it out more in the next real chapter, as well as answering some questions about Danzo's actions and plans and plots. It's shaping up to be quite the filler chapter, but some heavy changes are coming, and I need everyone up to speed. Sorry if your chomping at the bit for more action (you know who you are :P)

 **Fun Fact:** Kakuzu's techniques are named after the series Mobile Suit Gundam. For example, Earth Grudge Fear (jiongu) was named after the gundam MSN-02 Zeong. Aaaannndd I have just given myself another idea for a crossover. That's just great, me, nicely jobbed =.=


	12. Interlude 1 - The Chef and the Monkey

**AN:** No time to proofread this, so prepare for _a lot_ of spelling mistakes. Also, Naruto and the OAT has surpassed a 100 reviews! Yay! Special mention goes to HansImGlueck for being number 100! Congrats! =)

* * *

 **Interlude 1: The Chef and the Monkey**

It was during the final days of the Second Shinobi World War, and Konoha had just received a great hit. It wasn't a loss of territory or manpower (though those had suffered as well) but one of reputation.

And in the ninja world, reputation could easily mean the difference between victory and defeat.

A strike force of Konoha shinobi had invaded the Land of Rain, but had met its gruesome end at the hands of the legendary ninja Hanzo the Salamander, leaving only three survivors, who would ever after be known as the Sannin, the finest shinobi of their generation.

Hanzo was one of the strongest shinobi of his age, a truly impressive feat considering his lifetime saw many other living legends, such as the Third Raikage, who was thought to be invincible before he fell under an assault of 10,000 enemy shinobi that lasted a three days and three nights, allowing his comrades to escape to safety. Or the Third Tsuchikage, who had an extremely powerful Kekkei Tota, the Dust Release, which he had used to wipe away enemy armies and cities alike, with the ease of blowing away sand in the wind.

And of course, Konoha's Third Hokage himself, the teacher of Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, who in turn would teach the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, the deadliest ninja of his time. Sarutobi Hiruzen had been apprenticed to the Senju brothers themselves, and chosen successor of Hashirama Senju, the greatest shinobi to have ever lived, even having inherited the title 'God of Shinobi' from his mentor for his combat prowess.

Together with Enma, the Monkey King, there was no foe who could duel the powerful Sarutobi in personal combat, his strikes too fast to dodge, too powerful to block, his ninjutsu flawless and destructive enough that he had no equal when it came to destroying the enemy with the very elements of nature itself.

But he had yet more to offer.

He was also called the Professor, due to his working knowledge of nearly all ninja disciplines, more than a few of which most ninja had never even heard of, and sometimes more extensive than those who proclaimed themselves experts in their fields.

No matter what tactic you used, Hiruzen Sarutobi would already have a counter strategy already in place. No matter what special jutsu you inherited or invented, chances were Hiruzen Sarutobi knew more about its mysteries and intricacies than you did.

No, for all that the mere sight of him and his unbreakable staff instilled fear and defeat in Konoha's enemies, it was his mind that was the terror of the other nations, for surely he understood their inner workings and hidden secrets even better than they did.

He was after all, the Professor.

It had been a hard earned title, and one Hiruzen took great pride in, having worked almost every waking hour on doing it justice, studying by the light of candles and the sun alike. He understood the nature around him, he understood the people that inhabited that world alongside him, he knew what made the earth go round and his fellow humans tick.

So it was a _very_ rare occasion when Hiruzen found himself truly surprised anymore.

But that's just what happened during the final stages of the war.

He was in some small, unnamed village in a heavily contested border country between Kumo and Konoha, the ever hot-headed Raikage taking Konoha's loss at the hands of Hanzo the Salamander as a sign of weakness. The fact that Konoha had gained three more legends to its impressive roster had not been enough to dissuade the near-indestructible man from his aggressive course.

After all, they were untested, and their legends, though hard-earned with both sweat and blood, had yet to grow to match their prowess.

Unfortunately, Hiruzen couldn't call upon most of his legendary warriors to contest the challenge that the Raikage had made by overtaking one of their vassal territories.

Jiraiya was still in the Country of Rain, doing Kami knows what. Tsunade had turned her back on being a shinobi after the death of her lover, yet another heavy blow to Konoha's power and reputation. And Orochimaru… Orochimaru had been _changed_ by the War that plagued them.

Then again, weren't they all?

Minato Namikaze was a prodigy, true, but not yet old or powerful enough to send to the stage of war. There was also Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha, but he was off on mission that was vital to the survival of Konoha, and could not be spared for a border-dispute, no matter how important that dispute may be.

Which was why it was Hiruzen himself, that was standing in the rain on a torn-up field, his trusty friend Enma standing beside him.

And in front of them, was probably the strangest sight either of them had ever seen.

The Land of Flowers had no Ninja Village of their own, since their numbers were too small in order to maintain one, forcing them to usually hire shinobi from their ally Konoha.

However, that didn't mean that they didn't have any ninja at all; it was simply a result of all the major clans grouping together to form the various Shinobi Villages, that the unaffiliated ninja of the minor Lands were overall weaker than those of the major Villages, simply because they had no clans or Academy to fall back on in order to strengthen their skills.

So it was definitely an odd thing to see a single shinobi from a minor Land hold his own against a group of ninja's from not one, but _two_ major Villages.

With his bare hands.

A lone man stood in front of a small wooden house, his clothes stained with blood, as he was surrounded by ninja wearing headbands from both Kumo and Konoha. The enemy forces traded a few confused glances at their odd impromptu team-up, before focusing on the bigger threat.

At the man's feet was a small mound of dead shinobi, all of them with caved in skulls or chests. The man himself, looking more like a civilian instead of a deadly ninja, if not for all the blood covering him, stood with his back towards the house, his eyes flitting from one enemy to the next, his fists raised in front of him.

Even as Hiruzen watched, a Kumo shinobi flashed through a couple of handseals, before holding out both hands towards the lone man, his arms outstretched and his fingers curled into claws.

Hiruzen knew what was coming of course, once again doing his title as the Professor justice. A veritable lighting storm would fly from the shinobi's fingertips, and while at lower settings it wasn't immediately lethal, it was extremely painful and paralyzed the target.

Lightning began to build up around the Kumo shinobi's hands, while the scent of ozone filled the air-

 _Crack!_

"Aaaaaahhh!"

-before the lone man (' _Shinobi? Civilian?_ Samurai _?'_ ) _blurred_ to the enemy shinobi's side, his hands flashing out and grabbing the Kumo ninja's fingers and breaking them with a quick snap of his wrist.

It was one of the first lessons taught to shinobi and samurai alike; a ninja's weakness will always be his fingers. Without them, only the strongest of ninja could still preform ninjutsu, and if they could, then there was _very_ little chance you managed to break their fingers in the first place.

Without a way to release the pent-up energy, the lightning inside the shinobi's body became unstable, before unleashing itself in an explosion of light and gore.

The lone warrior hadn't paused to watch his handiwork however, and instead had moved towards the next enemy (' _Shunshin? Kawirami? Or is he just_ that _fast?'_ ), a ninja from Kumo as well. Like many others of his Village, this shinobi favored a sword, but as he tried to bring it down on the bare-handed man, he slapped the sword on the flat of the blade with a powerful palm-strike while twisting his body to the side, letting it bury itself deep into the earth.

The ninja was clever and experienced enough to not hold on to his weapon and instead jumped back, trying to create some space between him and his enemy. However, in mid-air, the lone man's hand lashed out, grabbing the air-borne ninja by the ankle, before swinging him around-

 _FWOOOSH!_

-right into a Great Fireball of one of Konoha's ninja's. Having shielded himself from the deadly technique, the lone warrior jumped away, leaving the burnt-out husk of the Kumo shinobi behind, returning to his previous spot in front of the wooden house.

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed at that, even as he let Enma transform into his staff form, his thoughts shooting through his brain like lightning, his gaze analyzing the odd spectacle in front of him.

' _He's protecting something. Something inside that house means enough to him that he'll fight to the death in order to protect it.´_

Hiruzen made to jump in, Enma at the ready as he was turning this new intel over and over in his head, thinking of the best way to exploit it, before his eyes widened in shock. A Konoha and a Kumo ninja were both flying through handseals, but had not seen the other one do it.

Hiruzen, however, recognized both sets of handseals (he probably knew more about the jutsu than their casters did) and in his minds-eye he saw the disaster about to happen.

"NO! DON'T!"

Both shinobi looked up in surprise, but both had been veterans of war, and had trained their bodies to move independently of their minds; if you had to think about _how_ you're supposed kill someone, chances were, he had already killed you instead.

So, even as their eyes widened as they saw the same danger that Hiruzen had seen, a look of horror and fear crossing their features, their hands still completed their techniques unabated, both landing on their final seal simultaneously, calling out their technique as much because of automatism as well as a hopeless warning.

"Fuuton: Tachikaze!"

"Katon: Ennetsu Jikogu!"

"NO!"

A blade of wind, screaming through the air with an almost visible sharpness, tearing up the ground behind it with deep furrows made with the ease of a hot kunai slicing through melted butter, met the pillar of flame that shot out of the ground where mere moments before the lone warrior had stood, shooting up into the sky with such heat that the rain in a diameter of a mile simply evaporated.

And then things got worse.

Hiruzen had to shield his eyes from the intense heat, only vaguely seeing the blurry shapes of the Konoha and Kumo ninja jump away, while the unknown enemy had already made himself scarce when the ground below him erupted in to flame, flipping through handseals as fast as he could, a terrified expression on his face.

And then Hiruzen didn't see anything anymore, as the world was consumed by fire and light, an explosion shaking the ground, while the sky itself was set aflame. The 40 year-old Hokage could feel heat slam into him with an almost physical weight to it, scorching off his eyebrows and beard, while the metal plates in his helmet and armor started heating up to uncomfortable degrees.

Hiruzen tried to work himself to his feet as fast as possible (there were _Kumo shinobi_ nearby, after all) only vaguely noticing that he had been flattened against the ground from the sheer intensity of the blast.

He was too busy trying to pull of his armor without burning his fingers.

As he looked back at the small village the fight had taken place in, a heavy sadness rested on his shoulders. Most of the buildings simply weren't there anymore, only blackened and burned skeletons of framework remaining.

' _Another village… gone. Another victim of this damned war…'_ the Hokage morosely thought to himself, the destruction of his allies' hearth and home heavy on his conscience.

Wrapping Enma, who was still in his staff form and glowing an ominous red, in the few scraps of fabric not torn up by battle, or burned by the disastrous misfire of the two techniques, Hiruzen glanced back at the village, his grey eyes trying to pierce the thick smoke and ash that obscured everything in sight.

' _Guess we'll never know who that ninja was… or what he thought was worth protecting so much that he fought two groups of enemy shinobi on his own.'_ He thought to himself, before his eyes widened in shock.

A gust of wind blew away the lingering smoke, revealing the unknown enemy standing in front of the wooden house, red as a lobster, and looking like he could drop dead any second, while behind him, steam wafting in great clouds from the woodwork, stood the house, relatively whole compared to the rest of the burned-down village.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Hiruzen had shunshined to the ninja's side with pinpoint precision, just in time to catch the unknown enemy as he sunk to his knees with a strangled gasp. As soon as the legendary Sarutobi laid his hands on the other ninja's reddened skin, he almost recoiled with a hiss.

The man's skin was hot to the touch, and instead of looking burned, as Hiruzen had expected, he instead seemed to be cooked alive. A quick glance at the man's hands (one on the wall of his home, the other on his own chest) as well as the lingering chakra trails that hung around them, told Hiruzen just what had happened.

' _He used a modified Water Prison Jutsu on the home, while using a similar one on himself. It's why he is hurt the way he is; he wasn't burned by the fire, but the water around him flash-boiled at the sudden heat, cooking him inside. However, it was probably the best option out of a slew of disastrous ones. But still, to create a Water Prison large enough to cover an_ entire house _, with just one hand, while making another in the other hand? Who is this man?'_

As close as he was, Hiruzen could finally make out more details about the mystery ninja. He was young, somewhere in his early twenties, meaning Hiruzen was almost twice as old as him. His features were strong, with deep set eyes and a square jaw.

Hiruzen had never seen him before in his life.

However, before Hiruzen could demand an answer to his question of the badly hurt ninja's identity, his earlier question was suddenly answered, as a soft wailing was heard from within the house.

It was the sound of a baby, crying out to its parents.

' _Guess I now know what he was trying to protect._ ' Hiruzen wondered, staring at the half-dead ninja in his arms.

As the wailing picked up in both pitch and volume, it seemed to reach the nearly unconscious shinobi, whose eyes snapped open at the sound.

"Ayame!"

Despite his grievous injuries, the (apparent) father made to jump to his feet and race towards his child. While a credit to his parenthood, trying to stress himself right now would very likely kill him, so before Hiruzen could stop himself, he laid a firm hand on the ninja's chest, pushing him back down.

Immediately, the unknown shinobi's eyes snapped to his perceived assailant, his hands balling into fists with the sickening sound of skin being torn open, reacting much like any ninja would to restraining contact when weakened.

Cutting off the fight before it could even begin, Hiruzen spoke up, his voice soft and soothing as he tried to hold the frightened father down.

"Be at ease. I am not your enemy; I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage of Konoha. I came here to free your village from Kumo's clutches, but I am afraid that it was destroyed when two ninjutsu combined with disastrous results. You were caught in the explosion; though you have managed to save your life, you are _very_ gravely injured. Please, remain here. I will retrieve Ayame, and bring her to safety."

Hiruzen knew that the ninja wouldn't accept the offer, even before he made it, but he had to get this mysterious man talking and quick. They did not have the luxury of time; Kumo could be on its way with reinforcements, the child could be gravely hurt inside of the house, and the man in his arms could very well have mere hours yet to live.

"Why should I trust you?" the unknown warrior said, his tone wary but not hostile, and so steady that if it weren't for the fact that he was clearly cooked alive, Hiruzen would've thought he was in perfectly good health.

"Like I said, I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage of Konoha. The Land of Flowers is a vassal of the Land of Fire, and as such, your village is… _was_ as well. You are under my protection, on my blood and honor, I swear it. I am your ally here. Let me get your daughter, before any harm befalls her." Hiruzen said, his last words accentuated by a piercing shriek of fear and distress coming from within the house.

That convinced the unknown man probably even more than Hiruzen's words, because his eyes flickered to the house, and then to his own injured body, which was clearly not up to the task of doing much more than just lie there, waiting for death to come and claim its ruined form.

A jerky nod, accompanied by the sound of even more skin tearing, before the bare-handed warrior focused on Hiruzen with an uncomfortable intensity.

"Bring her to me... p-please. I need to see her… b-before it's…" he said haltingly, fear of dying clear in his face, but more for the sake of his daughter than his own.

Hiruzen nodded, before he quickly patted down his pockets, searching for something to put underneath the man's head, in order to ease his suffering, which was clearly visible to his experienced eyes, no matter how well the man tried to hide it.

"Here."

Hiruzen looked up in surprise at a yellow vest pushed in his face, held by a large calloused hand. Enma, smoke rolling off of him and with his fur burnt in some places, sans his vest, looked away in embarrassment.

"Use this."

Hiruzen smiled at his old friend, even as he folded the garment, which smelled strongly of smoke, and laid it under the injured man's head, providing a little comfort, no matter how small.

"Thank you, Enma."

"Yeah, yeah, go get the sprog will ya." The Monkey King said, sounding faintly embarrassed.

Giving one more smile, Hiruzen dashed into the house at his greatest speed, leaving a gust of wind in his wake as he sprinted from room to room, worry for the child occupying his mind. He had been a Hokage during two World Wars now, and had done or condoned some pretty stomach-churning stuff that still occasionally kept him up at night, but he _refused_ to let innocents die under his watch.

In his heart, something that Hashirama himself had seen and treasured, Hiruzen Sarutobi was, and always would be, a big old softie.

Finally he found the nursery, made immediately clear by the bright, but soothing, walls, the toys littering every inch of the floor, and the clearly hand-made crib in the corner.

Well, that, and the wailing suddenly became a _lot_ louder.

Peering over the edge of the crib, Hiruzen smiled at the wailing little baby, chuckling as she started yelling even louder when she spotted his soot covered face.

"Easy there, young one. I mean you no harm. Let's go and get you to your father, shall we?"

Gently picking her up, taking care to not get any of the soot or dirt that covered him on her pristine yellow baby-clothes, Hiruzen settled the child in the crook of his arm, before making his way back outside.

As he stepped out of the home, child in hand, Hiruzen saw that what had survived of his Konoha strike force had grouped around the house, while Enma was seated next to the badly burned father, giving him sips to drink from a water flask someone had unsealed.

In the distance, Hiruzen could see the shapes of the Kumo force retreating back to the safety of their own borders, feeling a dark sense of vindication when he noticed that their number of survivors was significantly lower than their own.

They weren't called the Land of _Fire_ for nothing, after all. While Suna had a higher affinity for wind, Kumo for lightning, Iwa for stone and Kiri for water, Konoha had a large affinity for fire. As such, most of his forces had managed to deal slightly better with the sudden firestorm than the Kumo shinobi had done.

Then again, as was once more demonstrated today, "slightly" in the ninja world could very well mean the difference between life and death.

As Hiruzen bend down so father and daughter could be reunited, he didn't miss the looks of comprehension that dawned on his force's faces as they saw the reason their enemy had fought as passionately as he had.

A warm feeling of pride swelled inside his chest when he even saw a couple of looks of sympathy for the man, even though he had slain some of their numbers during their fight.

"And the mother?" Hiruzen asked gently as he handed Ayame back to her father, though he expected the answer already.

There was a brief pang of sorrow, before his face smoothed out, giving a shake of his head as he closed his eyes in pain, both emotional and physical.

"No. No mother."

"Ah. I see."

Hiruzen straightened himself, trying to hide a smile at the reunited family, but ultimately failed to do so when little Ayame's eyes lit up at the sight of Enma, her little hands waving about while a toothless smile appeared on her face.

"Kitty!"

Yeah, no, that was a losing battle from the start.

"Sir. What do we do now?" one of his shinobi asked, bringing him out of his thoughts and wiping the smile from his face.

Hiruzen's expression hardened as he stared in the direction where the Kumo shinobi had fled to, his hands balling into fists.

"There's no way that A didn't hear or see that explosion; he'll be here within minutes at most. We need to move. While we denied Kumo a foothold within the Lands of Flowers, the destruction of this village is still a victory for them, another sin on their long list of crimes during this War. Take that to heart men; look around you, at the destruction of our people at the hands of our enemies, and use it fuel your Will of Fire to even greater heights!"

A short, subdued cheer went up at his little speech, though it left a bad taste in Hiruzen's mouth. While slandering wasn't something that he enjoyed doing, this was war, and to show your enemy in the worst light possible was simply par for the course.

"And the unknown, sir?"

At the question, Hiruzen looked back at the unnamed ninja, who was cradling his daughter to his chest, his eyes closed in exhaustion. Looking at the man's daughter, who was playing with a little patch of golden fur on the back of Enma's hand, Hiruzen realized he had already made his decision.

"He comes back with us. Call ahead, inform base that we are on route, multiple injured, one severe. Have them ready for us. I want this man's live saved, understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama! Everyone, move out!"

Without saying a word, Enma gathered the now unconscious ninja in his arm, while Ayame was placed on his broad shoulders, where she grabbed two tiny fist-full of yellow-golden hair on the Monkey King's head.

As he walked past Hiruzen, the great ape glanced at his summoner from the corner of his eye, his face set in stone.

"Not a word, Hiruzen, not a word."

With a badly hidden grin, Hiruzen placed his hands behind his back as he fell in step with his old friend.

"I wouldn't dream about it… oh, great Uba King-san."

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

* * *

Hiruzen pulled away the heavy flap to the field hospital, his eyes zeroing in on its only patient, who was sitting up awake in his bed, while on the bed next to him, his little daughter was playing with a large stuffed monkey.

Hiruzen didn't know who amongst his troops had gifted the young child with the toy (Ayame, carried in as she was on Enma's shoulders, had been an immediate hit amongst his forces, all of them cooing over the little girl whenever they had the chance) but if he would ever find out, then he would buy them the finest bottle of sake he could find.

Enma's face when he had seen the little girl gnaw toothlessly on the plush monkey's head had been truly priceless.

His good mood evaporated however, when he looked at the father of Ayame. Nobody knew his name, and with the destruction of his village, there were no records for them to check. Luckily, most of the population had already been evacuated beforehand, leaving only those who couldn't travel fast enough behind.

Such as a single father with a one-year old child.

However, the surviving population of the unnamed village had already been moved further inward, away from the ever-shifting frontlines, which meant that they couldn't even ask them for information.

The man himself had been no help in that regard, being unconscious most of the time he had been in their care. Concidering some of the surgeries that he had been forced to go trough, Hiruzen rather saw that as a blessing in disguise.

Skin-transplants in field-hospitals were very messy things.

"It's good to see you awake. How do you feel?"

It was clear that the enemy ninja was still a little out of it, as he appeared startled by Hiruzen's sudden voice. He looked away from where his daughter was still playing with her toy, oblivious to the world, and stared at the Hokage with a stony expression, keeping his eyes closed to slits.

"As well as can be, for someone who thought he was going to die, I suppose." He said after a short pause, his tone bland, but thankfully not hostile.

Hiruzen moved closer to the bed-ridden ninja, smiling briefly when he saw Ayame look up at his approach, before she decided that her plushy monkey was more interesting, and resumed her gnawing attack.

"You have a name?" he asked casually, though his tone held steel.

The ninja in the bed stiffened, before forcing himself to relax. He stared defiantly at the Third Hokage in silence, though he couldn't stop the worried flicker of his eyes towards his playing daughter.

"Come on, you must have a name, right? I need to call you something, don't I? Or should I just call you Teuchi, hmm?" Hiruzen rumbled with amusement, though his expression was flat and his eyes cold.

The young man looked back at him, before taking a deep breath and lifting his chin.

"Teuchi will do."

Hiruzen raised a surprised eyebrow at the young man's defiance, before chuckling.

"Tell me, Teuchi, you aren't from the Land of Flowers, are you."

It wasn't a question, and they both knew it. Teuchi's hands balled into fists, but otherwise he didn't move or talk.

Taking that as confirmation, Hiruzen nodded to himself, before looking at the young man with a calculating gaze, clearly making Teuchi uncomfortable.

"Quite frankly Teuchi, I don't care which Village you came from. I don't even really care why you had to leave in the first place. But this is war, and Konoha needs soldiers. You stay with me, and I will protect you. I will allow both you and your daughter to live within Konoha's walls, and in return, you fight for me. Not on the front lines, and not in the open, we don't need to run the risk of somebody recognizing you after all. But you _will_ fight for me."

Teuchi looked at him with suspicion, as if he couldn't believe what Hiruzen was saying.

"You will allow me, a foreign nin, entrance to your Hidden Village? Just like that? And whenever I am on missions, I'm just supposed to leave my daughter behind in the midst of my enemy, like the perfect hostage? Why should I trust such an offer? Why should I trust you?" the young man hissed, taking care not to upset his daughter, who was still oblivious to the tense discussion going on next to her.

"You are asking the wrong questions, son. You shouldn't ask, if _you_ can trust _me_. You should ask, why am _I_ trusting _you_?" Hiruzen said back calmly, looking completely unbothered by the suspicious (and therefore volatile) ninja in front of him.

Taken aback, Teuchi blinked in surprise, before he frowned in confusion.

"Okay. Why would you trust me? You don't know me, don't know where I come from, or what I've done."

Hiruzen smiled, before seating himself on the chair next to Teuchi's bed, making the younger ninja shuffle a little closer to the other edge of the bed in clear discomfort.

For all of his bravado, Sarutobi Hiruzen was still a _G_ _od_ in an age of legends.

There was a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and Teuchi new very well where that line was.

"Like I said, those _W_ _ater_ jutsu gave me a pretty good idea of where you came from. As for what you did…"

At this, Hiruzen trailed off, his eyes glancing over at little Ayame, who was obviously getting tired, yawning wildly and snuggling close to the thoroughly drenched plushy.

"… let's just say that I won't be surprised when little Ayame here turns out to be… _special_."

Immediately Teuchi shot up with alertness, fixing Hiruzen with an intensity that surprised the older ninja.

"No. _Never_. Whatever sort of deal we end up making, she stays out of our world. She will be a civilian. Understood?" the young ninja said, his knuckles creaking with the strength he gripped his sheets with.

Hiruzen simply smiled as he leaned back into the uncomfortable chair.

"So you _do_ wish to make a deal. Very well. You fight for me, black-ops only. In return, you will be allowed to set up a civilian identity within Konoha, with all the rights and freedom that that entails. Your daughter will not be approached by me or mine, and allowed to live out the rest of her days as a civilian."

With that, Hiruzen sprang to his feet, and moved to the exit of the field-hospital, leaving a gaping and confused Teuchi behind.

"Once you're healthy enough, pack your stuff. You and Ayame will be travelling to Konoha as soon as possible."

"Wait!"

Hiruzen paused at the exit, one hand resting on the heavy entrance-flap. With a raised eyebrow, Hiruzen turned to look over his shoulder, glancing back at an uncomfortable looking Teuchi.

"Yes?"

"You never answered my question. Why do you trust me? Uh, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen smiled at the hastily added honorific, before answering in a warm tone.

"Because within you, I can see the Will of Fire, burning brighter than any I have seen in a long time. Goodbye, Teuchi."

"Goodbye… Hokage-sama."

* * *

"So, how has Konoha been treating you?" Hiruzen called, as he bounced little Ayame on his knee, the happy two-year old giggling with every bounce, her little hands waving around in the air in joy.

Though Hiruzen had the sinking suspicion that the little girl was much more attached to Enma than to him.

' _Hmm, how should I counteract my opponents influence upon this child?'_ Hiruzen thought amusedly to himself, only half-serious.

Okay, maybe a _little_ more than half.

"Oh, it has been fine Hokage-sama!" came Teuchi's harried voice from the kitchen, where he was making dinner for the three of them, the Hokage having decided on a whim to check on his Village's latest addition to its forces.

"I sense a but, Teuchi." Hiruzen replied patiently, before making silly faces at the toddler in his laps, causing Ayame to burst out into gales of laughter.

The young man came out of the small kitchen wearing a dirty apron and wiping the sweat from his forehead with an equally dirty towel.

"But the neighbors are starting to ask questions Hokage-sama. They know I pay my rent; they just can't figure out _how_." The ANBU-in-training replied.

Hiruzen's lips thinned in thought, even as he rose and started putting Ayame in her kid's chair, Teuchi having called that dinner was ready just moments before.

"It seems as if there's no choice; you'll need to get a civilian, day-to-day job."

It was not that uncommon actually. Many of the higher ranked ANBU-operatives were working full-time for Hiruzen's black-ops, and it was incredibly difficult to keep up a regular shinobi life-style alongside a secret black-ops career.

Add to that the fact that there were plenty of shinobi that had signature techniques, and thus were easily recognized, such as Hatake Kakashi, who _everybody_ would know had been in ANBU, and sometimes it was simply not viable to have a ninja be both a rank-and-file shinobi and an ANBU-operative.

To circumvent this, occasionally, a shinobi would "die" during a mission and his death made public. Then, the ninja would join ANBU and enjoy perfect anonymity, even when using famous techniques, since those could have been passed down to him or her.

Should such an operative find a need to move openly within Konoha (or another Hidden Village) then they underwent plastic surgery and received chakra-suppression seals, and took on the identity of a mere civilian.

At any given time, there were around two dozen such "civilians" within Konoha, with around the same number spread amongst the other ninja nations, most of them acting as contacts to his student's spy-network, which also allowed him to check and update their seals at the same time, which was why he was forced to visit each contact in person, a time-consuming process.

A similar method was used for ninja who Konoha couldn't exactly be allowed to see employ. Usually this involved missing-nin from other countries, but it could also simply be a VIP that shouldn't be in Konoha in the first place.

If the missing-nin or VIP was too well known, then they received the same treatment as the ANBU-operatives who went civilian did, so they could move freely within Konoha. If they weren't, like Teuchi, then they were simply installed as civilian newcomers, while joining ANBU instead of the regular shinobi force.

However, while Teuchi had successfully been integrated as a civilian, he didn't have a day-job yet, having been too busy with familiarizing himself in Konoha's special forces operations. And while their home wasn't particularly luxurious, it _did_ raise some eyebrows.

"My thoughts exactly, Hokage-sama. But I don't know how to pull something like that off. Kaba-taicho has been working me into the ground, and trying to fast-track me up the ranks." Teuchi replied, as he set the table, and brought out the food.

"Have you ever heard of the Kage Bunshin, Teuchi?" Hiruzen asked good-naturedly, before he glanced at what the younger ninja had placed in front of him.

"Ramen?" he asked with amusement lining his voice, looking back at the ANBU trainee with a raised eyebrow.

Teuchi blushed, before shrugging his shoulders.

"I didn't know you were coming for dinner, Hokage-sama, and this was all that I had left in the fridge. At least Ayame seems to like it." The young father said, looking over at his daughter with a fond smile.

Follwing Teuchi's gaze, Hiruzen found himself bursting out into laughter, as little Ayame looked up from where she had been dunking her face into her bowl of ramen, several strands of noodles hanging from her mouth, nose and even her eyebrows.

Still chuckling, Hiruzen took a fare more sedate sip, before he opened his eyes in shock.

"Teuchi!"

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"This is _really_ good! You should do something with this!"

"Oh, I don't know Hokage-sama… are you sure?"

"Of course I am! It's gonna be great!"

* * *

"You know, you didn't actually have to keep the name Teuchi when you registered yourself here in Konoha, right?" Hiruzen asked as he sat at the empty bar of Ramen Ichiraku's, the shop finally closed after a long day of unruly customers.

Eight-year old Ayame was already sent to bed, and it was only Hiruzen and Teuchi that had remained, the two friends sharing a little night-cap.

Teuchi chuckled, wrinkling the lines that started to form around his eyes, and downed his sake in a great gulp.

"Yeah, I did."

"But?"

"… but, Teuchi… I know why you gave me that name, Hokage-sama, but it's appropriate in more ways than one."

"Oh?" Hiruzen asked in surprise, sipping from his own sake.

"There used to be a saying, in my family: 'Always protect what's precious to you, with your own two hands.' After Ayame was born, I decided to finally honor that saying, and left behind all of my shinobi tools. Never used anything else than my bare hands since that day, even when that horrible fight between you and Kumo happened. So, Teuchi. Because I use my hands to protect what's precious to me." Teuchi said heavily, lifting his calloused hands and studying them intently.

"Do you know what happened to your family?"

"Scattered, most likely. I was only one of the few ninja that our family had; the rest of us were strong, yes, but no shinobi material. My guess is that they left Wa… my hometown, in search of greener pastures." Teuchi answered, glaring at the sake in front of him for making him commit that slip-up, before downing it in one gulp as revenge.

"You use shinobi weapons now." Hiruzen said softly, graciously changing the subject as he downed the last of his sake.

Teuchi snorted in response, before filling Hiruzen's cup again.

"As _Teuchi_ , I still keep to my family's saying, and use my own two hands for everything, from building this place up, to defending the most precious thing in my life. I'll probably get plenty of opportunities to show you that, Hokage-sama, when Ayame gets older and the boys start chasing her." The ramen chef chuckled, before his expression became somber again.

"But as _Salamander_ … as Salamander, I use everything I can, with every ounce of strength that I have. Because that's important as well. An ANBU-Captain should be well rounded, and not limit himself in anyway, because he has a responsibility to more than just himself, or his own beliefs." The single father said with a decisive nod, missing Hiruzen's smile as he hid it behind his sake cup.

"And that goes double for Commanders, I suppose."

Teuchi's eyes went wide as he choked on his sake, before he rounded on Hiruzen, shaking his head as he opened his mouth, but the Hokage cut him off.

"Commander Kaba is retiring, Teuchi. He has chosen you as his successor, and I agree with his assessment. Congratulations, Commander Salamander."

"I… I don't know what to say… thank you, Hokage-sama." Teuchi said haltingly, before giving a deep bow.

It was made somewhat less impressive when he stumbled a little when he did so.

Hiruzen snorted in amusement, before shaking his head.

"Stand up Teuchi, I can _see_ the alcohol rushing to your head. There's no need to bow or scrape; you _earned_ this, so well done. All I ask is for, is a small favor in return."

"Say it, Hokage-sama, and it will be done." Teuchi said in a serious tone as he straightened himself, clearly unaware that the effect was ruined by the fact that his face was as red as a tomato.

"Uzumaki Naruto. I foresee great troubles in his life, and I think that a safe-haven-"

"Say no more, Hokage-sama; no matter how much the Village may turn on young Naruto, you have my word that he will _always_ be welcome here. And at a discount too!"

"That's all I ask, old friend. That's all I ask."

* * *

 **Translations (courtesy of Google Translate)**

Uba = Nanny

Kaba = Hippo

The two technique are anime-references, can you guess them?

 **Fun Fact (courtesy of Kitsuneswiftpaw)(his review inspired much of this chapter):** Teuchi's name can mean "to kill with one's own two hands."


	13. Meetings by Moonlight

**AN:** A somewhat shorter and definetely darker chapter this one. Still, I hope you enjoy =) The titel is indeed a reference to Jack Nicholson's Joker in Tim Burton's _Batman Forever_. Why? Because I like the quote. No other reason than that, really.

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - Dancing with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight**

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage, the Professor, God of Shinobi, yadda yadda yadda, sat down on the only chair in the living room of his former advisor, Shimura Danzo, with a bone-rattling sigh, wiping a wrinkled hand over his tired face.

The sound of a quill scratching on paper made him look up at said advisor, who was sitting across from him at a low table, dutifully filling out absolutely massive piles of paperwork. The man's expression was unnaturally serene, and his movements almost robotic. It appeared as if the traitor wasn't even aware of the Hokage's presence at all.

There was no signs of the wounds that Danzo received during the desperate battle from almost a week ago, but this was done intentionally by Hiruzen; the cover-story was that old age would eventually claim the traitorous advisor, but visible wounds from a fight would immediately blow that plan out of the water.

Of course, they were already on thin ice as it was. The fight between Danzo and Uchiha Shisui's ANBU protection-squad had not gone unnoticed. While Hiruzen had managed to deflect the more overt inquires, claiming everything from training exercises to apprehending enemy infiltrators, there was still an air of suspicion amongst the higher ranked shinobi in his forces.

The Uchiha began to grow restless.

"Fū, take these documents and secure them in my personal vaults. Use combination 11B/C and make sure to check the security seals when you leave."

"Hai, Danzo-sama."

Bowing at the waist, Shisui gently took the papers out of Danzo's hand, pausing only long enough to stare into the ROOT leaders eye with his own spinning red ones, before silently moving away. The young ANBU stumbled for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose as a thin tear of blood rolled down his face.

"Here."

Face made of stone, Hiruzen extended a white towel to the Uchiha, would looked surprised, but grateful at the gesture. The Hokage waited for a moment, allowing his ninja to clear his face and center himself once more, before gently asking his questions.

"How is it going?"

Silently, Shisui handed Hiruzen the file Danzo had given him moments before.

"The illusion still holds strong, Hokage-sama. He thinks that I am one of his most trusted operatives, and that he has decided to document all of his actions since he has founded ROOT. Other than that, his world is entirely blank."

"You are sure of this?"

"I'm not gonna lie, Hokage-sama." Shisui said with an exhausted sigh as he moved towards the kitchen, where he thankfully poured himself a glass of cool water.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha's informal tone, but decided to let it slide in this instance; from what he knew of Kotoamatsukami, it was only meant to be used around once or twice a month.

Shisui had been using it multiple times a day for the past week.

Quite frankly, it was a miracle the young ANBU was functioning at all.

"His mind is strong, Hokage-sama. I have never encountered such mental willpower before. And that's _without_ the traps his own Yamanaka have installed in his mind."

Hiruzen frowned, his hands clenching into fists at the reminder of his ex-friend's craftiness.

When Hiruzen had ordered one of his loyal Yamanaka to delve into Danzo's mind in order to extract any information that the traitorous advisor had kept to himself all this time, he had nearly lost his ANBU operative altogether, a pre-made defense trapping the Yamanaka in Danzo's mindscape.

It had taken three other Yamanaka a full day to retrieve their clan member, and he came out… _wrong_. Hiruzen had been forced to order a complete mind-wipe, and dismiss the nin from ANBU on the grounds of excessive mental trauma.

"But we have disabled those traps, operative Uchiha. You yourself have made Danzo admit to that."

Shisui gave a nod, before finishing off his glass in a single gulp. He immediately turned back to the sink in order to refill it. Speaking over his shoulder, the young Uchiha continued.

"True. But apparently, he has several routines in his daily schedule, specifically designed to warn himself if he is ever mind-controlled should he ever deviate from those routines. There are also several notes and journals that serve the same purpose. He even has trigger-words installed in his mind."

"Trigger-words?"

"They initiate a complete reboot of his mind, essentially clearing most mental compulsions. I only found out last night, when I suddenly woke up to him standing over my bed with a raised kunai."

Hiruzen only barely managed to hide his wince at that. He began to suspect that the bags underneath Shisui's eyes were for other reasons than overusing his technique.

"What happened?"

"As you instructed, I started giving him orders to make a written report of all of his covert operations he has undertaken since his time with ROOT, all the while making it seem as if it was his idea in the first place. Apparently, he had a specifically designed trigger-phrase, which was almost literally the order I tried to give him. He managed to free himself from my jutsu at least partially, but before he managed to strike, I used Kotoamatsukami on him again, making him decide that he suddenly wanted to get a nap."

Finishing his third glass, Shisui gave a weak chuckle, before moving over to the spartan chairs in the dining room, letting his head fall on the table with a dull ' _thud_ '.

"Since then we have also started pumping him full of drugs, since the reboot only clears _mental_ afflictions. So, now I am Yamanaka Fū, trusted operative of Shimura Danzo. And he doesn't have a clue." The young ninja said with a hint of bitterness.

Hiruzen joined his ANBU operative at the table, allowing Shisui a moment of peace, before continuing with his questioning. It was harsh, but they had little time, and they needed to pump Danzo for all that he was worth, before the next complication exploded in their faces.

"Are the trigger-words dealt with then?"

Not lifting his head from the table, Shisui nodded, before glancing at his Hokage from the corner of his eye, an exhausted look clearly visible in the dull onyx of his pupils.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. To keep this as contained as possible, I ordered the same Yamanaka who removed the mental traps to identify and remove the trigger-words and phrases, then had them wipe each other's mind from everything that has happened here."

Hiruzen frowned at that, stroking his pointy beard in thought at the young Uchiha's actions. ANBU ranks were kept vague and fluid on purpose; not only did this make it more difficult for infiltrators to join their forces, or for spies to identify the civilian identities of his operatives, it also allowed him to form highly specialized teams on the fly, regardless of whatever rank the individual ninja held within ANBU itself.

Still, while Shisui was the unofficial leader of this operation due to his eyes being imperative to its success, to order the mind-wipe of not one, but three senior operatives was unusual to say the least.

' _Then again, these are highly unusual circumstances as well.'_ Hiruzen thought to himself, studying the young Uchiha with a critical gaze, his expression softening somewhat when he saw that Shisui was on the verge of falling asleep where he sat.

' _Nearly dead on his feet, but still sharp enough to take charge of the operation, and not hesitating in doing what's necessary to keep it contained as well, even if this means ordering around his superiors. Fine qualities for an ANBU. For a Commander, in fact.'_

While Salamander was a formidable ninja in his own right, the fact remained that losing an arm drastically reduced a shinobi's combat capabilities, no matter his specialization or experience.

Danzo himself was a perfect example for this.

Still, finding a replacement for Salamander was still a while off, thankfully, Hiruzen having bought them all a little time by doing something that still turned his stomach whenever he thought about it.

In order to keep spies on the wrong foot (and there _were_ spies in Konoha, there was no doubt about that) he had ordered a few ANBU to remove their own arm, as well as ordering several "accidents" amongst the civilian population. This way, even _if_ a spy managed to uncover that ANBU Commander Salamander had lost an arm, they would be unable to figure out his civilian identity by searching for people that had suddenly and mysteriously lost an appendage.

This _should_ buy them enough time to search for a replacement Salamander, the title being passed on to whoever held the position. While the ANBU Commander was supposed to head Konoha's black-ops operations, and as such should be unknown to the other Villages, this was simply not the case, either due to the intelligence provided by spies, or by sightings on the battlefield during wartime, the Commander's sheer strength sometimes necessary in order to turn the tide of battle.

Which meant that Hiruzen _had_ to get a ninja out there with the Salamander mask on, or the other Villages would immediately see his absence as a sign of weakness in Konoha's strength.

Thankfully for Shisui, there was still a little time before a new Commander would step unto the world-stage, and as it was, it would probably one of Salamander's current lieutenants, due to their greater skill and experience.

That didn't mean that Shisui couldn't be trained for the position, however.

Shaking the thoughts of promotions and the cloak-and-dagger power plays that were always going on between Hiruzen and his fellow Kage, the aged Sarutobi gently shook the young Shisui by the shoulder, causing the ANBU-operative to literally jump out of his chair, one hand raised to his temple.

"Uchisui Shiha, reporting for duty, sir!"

"At ease, operative." Hiruzen said calmly, just barely able to mask his amusement.

"Thank you, sir!"

And with that, Shisui collapsed back into his chair, his head sinking back towards the table. Hiruzen quickly cut that off, by coughing into his fist, before continuing with his questions.

"So, all trigger-words are removed, all mental traps dismantled and I assume that you have questioned Danzo on his routines and journals?"

Seeing Shisui's tired nod, Hiruzen held up the stack of files the young Uchiha had given him under the guise of Yamanaka Fū.

"And this documentation? It is accurate?"

Shisui barely managed to stifle a yawn, before nodding again.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. One of the first things that we managed to get out of him are various safe-houses for his ROOT-operatives hidden throughout the Elemental Nations, as well as shut-down commands for his forces. We have managed to capture several of them here in Konoha, and they are refitted for our own use as we speak."

' _True ninja rhetoric that; waste not, want not. Only taken a little bit more literal, in this case.'_ Hiruzen thought to himself in wry amusement.

"And the operatives themselves?"

"Broken. Completely and utterly. But alive, at least. All of them with a seal that makes it impossible for them to talk about Danzo or his operations, but we are starting to get bits and pieces from his notes about how to circumvent this."

Hiruzen lifted a graying eyebrow at that.

"Bits and pieces?"

"Hai. In order to keep the illusion as secure and subtle as possible, it's essential that Danzo keeps thinking that _he_ is responsible for his actions. It also means that the pressure I can put on him is limited; if what I order him to do is too different from what he would usually do, then he might break free completely."

"I thought that your Kotoamatsukami circumvented this entirely; that's what makes it such a formidable Genjutsu, is it not?"

"Normally? Yes. With him? Apologies, Hokage-sama, but after the scare he gave me last night, I'd really rather not risk it, drugged or not."

"Fair enough." Hiruzen allowed, somehow not surprised that his former rival managed to thwart him even when he was essentially being mentally enslaved to him.

For a moment, there fell a silence in Danzo's kitchen, Hiruzen staring out the window at the sunlit houses of Konoha, the only sounds that of a quill softly scribbling on paper in the living room and several birds happily singing in the trees that lined his former advisor's back-yard, as an old lady shambled past, a bag of groceries in hand, being assisted by a ninja who was probably her son, if her questioning about when he "was finally going to grow up and find a nice young lady to settle down with, so that I can have a few grandkids before I die, huh?!" was anything to go by.

Outside on the street, a young Hayate Gekko hurriedly coughed in his hand, an impressive blush lighting up his face.

"Hokage-sama?"

Turning to the young Uchiha next to him, Hiruzen was surprised at how nervous Shisui looked, his utter exhaustion completely forgotten. Making sure that his expression was gentle and inviting, the Hokage inclined his head, prompting his operative to speak his mind.

"Yes, operative Shisui?"

Briefly, Shisui squirmed in his seat, before blurting out his question.

"Hokage-sama, during your fight with Danzo… you said that you had checked all of the graves… what did you mean by that?"

Hiruzen sagged in his seat, resting his hand on his fist as he stared at the young ANBU in front of him, wondering how he should deal with this situation.

' _I just can't catch a break, huh? Damn it all Minato, it should be you sitting here, I'm getting too old for this shit. No, I_ already am _too old for this shit!'_ Hiruzen thought to himself, before sighing deeply.

"You are briefed on the Kyuubi reports about the identity of the mysterious ninja that released and controlled him during the attack, nine years ago?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. The figure claimed that he was Uchiha Madara, and while we do have records of Madara controlling the Kyuubi in the past, the Demon identified the masked ninja as an imposter."

"Indeed. Following that revelation, I ordered Salamander to look into all records of Uchiha that have are MIA or KIA, as well as checking your graves."

Seeing Shisui's affronted expression at the revelation, Hiruzen quickly continued, too tired to get into a confrontation with one of the few Uchiha still loyal to his Village.

"We had to be sure, Shisui. Grave-robbing, as distasteful as it is, is a possibility we _must_ keep in mind. After all, the Uchiha do not possess a seal as the Hyuuga do, and we all know how desperate the other Nations are for a Sharingan of their own."

Somewhat mollified, Shisui settle down, though he still had his arms crossed, and glared at the Hokage suspiciously.

' _Good. No ninja worth his salt should be so easily swayed, no matter what or by whom.'_ Hiruzen thought grimly to himself, before he continued.

"As we checked the graves, we saw definite signs of tampering with the bodies. Some we believe to have been performed by Danzo, others appear the work of another party. My best guess is Orochimaru. His obsession with the Sharingan is well known, and he is depraved enough to stoop to something as disgusting as grave-robbing." Hiruzen said in a harsh tone, though inside, his heart ached.

Yes, Orochimaru had been a traitor to the Leaf for a number of years now, and yes, he had been a monster for many more, but he had been a trusted student and even a son to Hiruzen for far, far longer. To think about the horrible being the bright young man, whom Hiruzen had taught his very first Henge, had turned into still cut deep into his heart.

"As it is, Danzo and Orochimaru have probably remained working together even after ROOT's dissolution, but we'll get conformation about that out of Danzo sooner or later. However, when we checked the graves, we found that one was empty."

"Uchiha Madara." Shisui breathed, his mind still managing to catch on quickly, despite the fog of exhaustion heavily weighing on all of his thoughts.

Hiruzen nodded, his face gaining a grave expression.

"When I say empty, I mean that in the most literal way; it wasn't _emptied_ , since there never was anything inside in the first place. We now believe that Madara didn't die at the Valley of the End in the fight with my sensei, but instead managed to escape."

Shisui frowned in confusion, worrying his lip between his teeth.

"But, the Kyuubi said that it _wasn't_ Madara that released him? So doesn't that mean that Madara died there anyway?"

"Whether or not Madara did indeed perish at the Valley of the End is of no consequence at this time; old age would've claimed him by now. While there are ways of expanding your lifespan, from what I remember of him, Madara would be far too proud to actually use any of them. No, what we are looking at is a disciple of his, continuing his plans after his death in his name. In this case, literally."

Shisui slumped in his seat, a defeated expression on his face as he mulled his Hokage's words over in his head.

"So the villagers are right then? An Uchiha released the Kyuubi and ordered the rampage from nine years ago?"

Briefly Hiruzen hesitated in answering the young ninja, before steeling his heart. Shisui had more than earned his headband for several years now, the time for coddling was long past, no matter how much Hiruzen wished it wasn't.

"Not necessarily, as he could have simply gifted his eyes to his disciple, but it's very unlikely. Not only would Madara never give up his eyes, his brother's eyes, if the legends are to be believed, but the subjugation of the Tailed Beast is a highly advanced technique of the Sharingan, and if Hatake Kakashi is anything to go on, non-Uchiha would be unable to perform it. The chakra cost of the technique, combined with the drain from keeping the dōjutsu activated would outright kill most ninja."

Shisui buried his face in his hands, his body shaking at the revelation that one of his own family might have been responsible for all of the pain and suffering the Kyuubi had caused during his rampage, and the subsequent tensions between the Uchiha and the rest of the Village.

"But can't we use this? Reveal this to the Clan?"

"I fear that at this point, they would view it more as an attack on their person, rather than an explanation. And do not forget, we came to this conclusion on the word of a Demon and evidence gathered from desecrating their families' graves. No, I am afraid that only your unique jutsu could broker peace between the Uchiha and Konoha now." Hiruzen answered with a heavy voice, his tone subdued.

"And I can't use it on the Clan, since I'm stuck using it on Danzo here, or he'll do even more damage. And we can't just kill Danzo, because he still has a ton of useful information, not to mention unknown fail-safes for just such a scenario." Shisui laughed bitterly to himself, clenching his fists hard enough that Hiruzen could hear bone creak.

A heavy silence fell across the dining room, and Hiruzen suddenly realized that the sun didn't seem as bright anymore, or the birds singing as joyful as he had before. He was shaken from his observations by a shaky sigh from Shisui, and when he looked back, he pretended not to notice the way the young ninja desperately wiped his sleeve across his eyes.

"So, assassination then?"

Hiruzen froze in his seat, before very slowly forcing himself to relax. A heavy weight seemed to settle across his shoulders, while guilt seemed to drag his heart out of his chest and into an unfathomable abyss.

"Yes." He whispered softly, looking at one of the few remaining loyal Uchiha with sorrow in his eyes.

Shisui nodded, before desperately wiping his eyes once more. He tried to speak, but had to swallow a few times before he managed to actually form words, and even then his voice was still shaky.

"You… ahem… you can't use your own ninja. The Hokage attacking one of Konoha's own Clans would spark a Civil War, and in turn a World War. You can't wait for the Uchiha to make the first move, for the same reasons. It needs to be an internal affair. It'll make Konoha look weaker, but it won't ignite a war at the very least." Shisui reasoned, his voice full of pain, even as he gave up on keeping the tears flowing down his face.

Hiruzen felt his heart break for the youth in front of him, but forced himself to remain seated; if Shisui were to truly follow in Salamander's footsteps in the future, or even to simply hold together the remains of the Uchiha Clan after the Execution, then he would need to become a lot more hardened than he was now.

' _It is a cruel thing to do… but then again, it is a cruel world we live in. Minato… Sensei… what would you have done?'_

Slowly, Shisui managed to regain some of his composure, and continued with his reasoning. Hiruzen let him do so, allowing the young Uchiha to both settle his mind, as well out of a faint hope that in making Shisui go through the problem on his own, he might find a way that didn't require any bloodshed.

He wasn't counting on it though.

"So, it should be an Uchiha who… who k-kills the members of the Clan that wish to perform the Coup. No easy task, so the Uchiha in question needs to be incredibly powerful, while at the same time still loyal to Konoha… I'm stuck in here, which means… you're planning on using Itachi, aren't you?"

Hiruzen simply nodded, not reacting when Shisui completely stilled in his seat, the only movement he made being the tears that steadily flowed down his face.

"I see." The youth choked out, before mechanically rising out of his seat and moving over towards the sink.

As the young Uchiha rinsed his face, Hiruzen rose to his feet, catching Shisui by the shoulder when he made to return to Danzo in the living room.

"Operative Uchiha Shisui…" Hiruzen began, his voice stern, but not harsh.

However, when Shisui looked at him with eyes that were completely dead inside, he softened his tone.

"Shisui… will you be able to handle what's to come?"

There was a brief pause before Shisui answered, his tone as dead as his eyes.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Now, if you don't mind, I must return to my mission. If I don't apply Kotoamatsukami on Danzo regularly, he might escape."

And with that, Shisui stiffly left for the leaving room, leaving an old man behind, whose back was bent under the mountain of guilt he carried in silence.

* * *

"Out of the way! Move!"

"What the hell, gaki!?" "Hey, watch it!" "What's the big idea, huh?!"

"I'M LATE!"

And with that, Naruto Uzumaki, prankster extraordinaire, jailor to the fearsome Kyuubi no Yoko, and perpetually late person, took to the roof with a burst of chakra to his legs, leaving a gale of wind in his wake.

' **Damn it all to the very depths of Hell, little one! Do you** _ **have**_ **to be so loud?'** came a grumbling from the boy's mind, the fox stuck in the extra-dimensional prison tied to the ink on Naruto's stomach clearly not appreciating being waken up in such a manner.

' _I. AM._ LATE _!'_

' **I KNOW! So stop screaming about it already!'**

' _But this is the first day of the Academy! If I am late now, then the teacher will hold that against me for the rest of my life, I just know it!'_

' **Then stop screaming to me about it, and just run faster damn you! Are you a ninja or not?'**

' _Right! Thanks Foxy-san!'_

' **AND MY NAME IS** _ **NOT**_ **-'**

But Naruto had already closed the link, and began channeling even more chakra to his legs, making leaps tens of feet long. Even in his haste to reach the Academy on time, the blond couldn't help but laugh at the top of his lungs, as he sailed over houses and streets alike.

' _Being a ninja is_ so _awesome.'_

And with that thought, while still in mid-air, Naruto flew through several handseals, before being enveloped in a large cloud of smoke. What came roaring out of the cloud had several civilians (and one rather embarrassed ninja) shriek in fright.

Flapping an enormous set of leather wings, an honest to god _dragon_ flew out of the smoke, ruffling the hair of the people below with the speed it was flying, its long sinuous body stretched as straight as an arrow behind the gigantic wings propelling the Naruto-dragon in a mad dash towards the Hokage-tower, proudly standing tall over the rest of Konoha.

Unfortunately for Naruto (and the Academy) his training with flying forms were more centered around birds that could achieve great heights, rather than great speeds. In fact, this was the fastest that Naruto had ever gone (his chakra-fueled charges didn't really count, since those were more accidents than anything that Naruto had actually _done_ ) and he quickly discovered this when the Academy suddenly became _a lot_ closer than he had expected.

As he tried to brake, and only succeeded in tumbling head over tail through the air, one final thought rang through Naruto's mind.

' _I think this is actually going to make a_ worse _expression than coming late to class.'_

And then he crashed through the window.

And the rest of the wall.

* * *

 **Mere moments before**

"Hello class, my name is Umino Iruka, but you may call me Iruka-sensei. As your sensei from this point forwards until you graduate in three years' time, I wish you all the best, and look forward to working with you all!"

The young Chunin, a thick scar running over the bridge of his nose, smiled at the exited class of ninja-hopefuls in front of him, stealthily keeping an eye on the Clan children in the room.

' _So many of them in a single year? And most of them the children of Clan Heads? That cannot be a coincidence. Best that I keep an eye on all of them.'_

"Let's start with the roll-call, shall we?" he said aloud, receiving a chorus of enthusiastic "Hai sensei!" in return (except for the Nara, of course, who appeared to have fallen asleep already).

He quickly went down the list, recognizing some names from his comrades in Konoha's ninja forces, and others from various shops that he frequented in the Village. With those, he made sure to make small talk, politely informing whether or not they were related to the people that he knew, and building rapport with them as he did.

With those that he didn't recognize, he invited them to reveal a little about themselves, and he made sure to react positively on whatever they said (no matter how inane) in order to gain a positive relation with them as well.

Umino Iruka was a nice guy second, but a ninja first, after all.

However, as he approached the end of the list, his eyes widened slightly, before setting into a carefully neutral mask.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" he called out, pride that his voice was steady, and without any note of hostility, though the more perceptive children noticed that the warmth was gone from his voice as well.

Hearing no answer, Iruka tried a few times more, while a dark vindication made itself known in his gut.

' _Tch! Leave it to the demon-brat to come late to class! Honestly, what do you expect of-'_

' _No! That's not fair! I promised that I would teach with an open mind, and I_ will _do so! Maybe he was held up? He_ is _a person of interest to Konoha after all, maybe he was called away for something?'_

Iruka was shaken from his internal dilemma by the shrill voice of Yamanaka Ino, only daughter to Yamanaka Inoichi, part of the current Ino-Shika-Cho unit.

"Sensei! What's _that_!?"

"Hmm?"

Looking up distractedly, Iruka's eyes widened suddenly when he saw a large black shape hurl towards the Academy at break-neck speeds.

In fact, it even seemed as if it was heading to his classroom…

Eyes wide, even as he grabbed a kunai from the pouch on his hip, Iruka screamed at the children as he dove at them in order to protect them with his body.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"

He briefly saw several of the Clan children having done just that already out of instinct, while most of the civilians were still staring at him in confusion.

' _CRASH!'_

With the sound of glass and wood shattering apart, the black blur slammed into his classroom, ending up on the ground where mere moments his (beautiful, brand-spanking-new, _extremely expensive!_ ) desk had stood.

When the dust cleared, both Iruka and his students stood with mouths agape as they stared at what appeared to be real-life _dragon_ lying on the floor of the classroom, surrounded by splinters of wood and broken glass.

The titanic being of myth gave a mighty groan-

' _poof!'_

-before it was enveloped by a cloud of smoke. Hurriedly using some chakra, while holding his kunai out in front of him, Iruka blew away the grey smoke, revealing-

"Ouch, my head hurts…"

-a small blond boy, sitting up while rubbing his head, where an impressive bump was forming before the teacher's very eyes.

Feeling the gaze of Iruka and the rest of the class on him, the small child slowly turned towards them, before looking up at Iruka's steadily reddening face. For a second, the young blonde looked like a dear caught in a Katon jutsu, before he gave Iruka a gigantic grin, stretching the whisker-marks on his cheeks while closing his eyes.

"H-Hey there sensei, he he he… Sorry 'bout the wall, but ehh, ya see, I was getting late… sooo-"

"YOU…."

With wide eyes, the child shrank back, while thunderclouds formed over Iruka's head, his voice shaking the room they were standing in to its very foundations.

"… DETENTION!"

There hung a short silence in the room as Iruka's voice echoed throughout the entirety of Konoha, before it was broken by a low whistle from one of the children in the classroom, who were all peaking over the edge of their desks.

"Damn Naruto, that must be a record or something."

"Shut up Kiba."

* * *

Above the newly remodeled Academy, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked down at the illustrious place of learning (now with a brand new ventilation system) before letting his head drop in his hands.

"Naruto… what am I going to do with you?" the Hokage asked himself, not sure whether to cry or laugh and eventually settling on an odd mix of both.

* * *

Uchiha Itachi, 15 years old, prodigy and ANBU-Captain, was a man (well, _boy_ really) on a mission. Night had fallen over Konoha, and the moon was hidden behind the clouds. While Itachi's body was steady, his heart was hammering inside his chest.

A few days ago, he had received the order from the Hokage that the orchestrators of the coup were to be eliminated, lest Konoha be plunged into another World War.

Which included Itachi's parents.

Thankfully, tonight was only a recon mission; while he was powerful, he wasn't powerful to go up against the majority of the Uchiha Clan alone and emerge victorious. Not that that really would stop Itachi; if he managed to take out enough of his family before they managed to kill him, they might decide to still abandon the coup either way.

Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing this, and could very easily backfire on Konoha if the Clan was to decide that his "snapping" was the fault of Konoha's machinations.

That in a manner of speaking they were right certainly didn't ease the young ninja's mind.

Which was why he was now patrolling the Uchiha Compound, having volunteered for a couple of border-patrol missions in order to do so without any suspicion. He was looking for every possible hole in the defense of his Clan's Compound, preferably large enough for the quick entrance and exit for an elite ANBU kill squad.

Itachi was no fool; despite being only 15 years old, he was already the veteran of one of the bloodiest wars his world had ever seen. He knew the horrors of war, and he knew just how precariously close they were to unleashing them upon the world once more.

This needed to be fast, this needed to be quick, and most of all, it needed to be pinned on him.

Itachi knew he was basically throwing away his life by continuing with this operation, but he wasn't as bothered by this as he had expected to be. After all, are not all ninja prepared to die for their Village the moment they donned their headband?

The only difference was that his body would keep on serving Konoha long after he had died.

Because there was no doubt in his mind that Uchiha Itachi, son to Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, wouldn't survive the night. What would emerge in his stead the day after, however, was anyone's guess.

He jumped towards the nearest tree, hoping for a better vantage point, before suddenly twisting in mid-air, throwing a brace of shuriken and kunai, his Sharingan whirling madly as it came alive, nearly glowing in the darkness.

The presence he had only now sensed managed to dodge the barrage of weapons, before several strands glinted in the faint moonlight, revealing themselves to be ninja-wire, allowing Itachi to quickly redirect the shuriken in six different directions simultaneously with nothing more than a flick of his fingers.

The rapidly changing shuriken forced the unknown figure to make a wild leap to the left, but suddenly Itachi was _right there_ , still controlling the multitude of shuriken with his left hand, while his right hand whipped out the tanto strapped to his back.

His eyes slowed everything to a crawl, the spinning tomoe already throwing a multitude of high-level Genjutsu in short succession at his opponent, even as he closed in with his short sword in a frontal assault, the gleaming tip shining brightly in the moonlight, while the shuriken (and even some redirected kunai) flew towards his enemies' unprotected back.

Pinned as he was, Itachi fully expected the mysterious ninja to dodge to either side in an effort to flank him with taijutsu or maybe some hidden weapon, concealed underneath the large and shapeless black cloak his opponent was wearing.

It was almost like an unspoken agreement between them that neither ninja considered ninjutsu; both were here on a secretive mission, and drawing attention to themselves was the last thing either one needed right now.

That didn't keep them from trying to stab each other to death to their hearts content.

Which is why Itachi was surprised when his opponent didn't dodge, or even took out a weapon of some kind; instead, he simply allowed Itachi's tanto to pierce him in the gut.

Itachi's eyes widened in surprise at the action, completely taken off guard by his opponents apparent death-wish. However, this allowed his enemies' arm to shoot out like lightning, and grasp Itachi's outstretched arm in a vice-like grip, the sound of bones grinding against one another audible in the stillness of the forest.

With an agility that should be impossible with a sword sticking out of your gut, the unknown ninja twisted around, dragging Itachi along and throwing him at his own shuriken. Itachi managed to hold onto his tanto as his assailant released him, the sword sliding out of his body without any resistance at all, before he managed to turn on the spot and striking all of the thrown weapons out of the air with a single swing.

Turning back to his opponent, Itachi glanced out of the corner of his eye at his tanto, and wasn't surprised to see that the blade was still clean, without even a hint of blood. A quick glance at his opponent showed that his cloak didn't have so much as a cut or tear, despite Itachi having seen with his own Sharingan that his sword had penetrated the other ninja's body for at least a couple of inches.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked, his voice calm and his face completely impassive.

Young as he was, he was still a very experienced ninja and this wasn't the first time that he went up against an opponent who was immune to attacks for some reason or other, though in the privacy of his mind, he admitted that something like this was new, even to him.

The ninja stepped a little closer towards him, the moon coming out from beneath the dark clouds that had hidden him for so long, bathing the man's mask in a cold pale light.

"My name is Uchiha Madara. And I have a proposition for you, Uchiha Itachi."

* * *

 **AN:** So, Naruto has _finally_ met Iruka, which means that I am almost caught up with the start of the series. Also, "Uchiha Madara" has come to the stage! What horrors and anguish shall he inflict upon the ninja world?! I dunno, to be honest, and quite frankly, it's gonna be a pain to figure that out.

 **Fun Fact:** Since nobody seems to have caught on to the symbolism of having the Commander's mask be a Salamander, allow me to explain: in classical folklore around the world, Salamanders are often connected to the element of fire, with some legends even saying that they were in fact born from the flames themselves. Early travellers from the Western World that traveled to the Far East were often shown garments, supposedly made from salamander skin. In order to prove this, they would throw the garments in fire, only to reveal that the clothes weren't burned at all. It was later discovered that this wasn't, in fact, because they were made from salamander skin, but asbestos instead.

The more you know =)


	14. Omake 4 - My name is

**AN:** On October 21, Guest reviewer 2Lazy2Login wrote: "That ending... its so cliche that I cringed while reading it." Well, my good sir, you ask and I deliver =)

* * *

 **Omake 4 – My name is…**

"Hello. My name is Uchiha Madara. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

…

"Uhm, what?"

* * *

"Hi! My name is... (what?) my name is... (who?) my name is... Uchiha Madara."

...

"Are you alright?"

* * *

"My name is Uchiha… _Madara_ Uchiha…"

…

"I don't get it."

* * *

"My name is Uchiha Madara, Commander of the armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."

…

"None of what you said was true. Or made any sense."

* * *

"The class is Pain 101. Your instructor is Uchiha Madara."

…

"I am seriously starting to question your capability to teach anything at all."

* * *

"I'm Uchiha Madara. I solve problems."

…

"Somehow, I rather doubt that."

* * *

"Uchiha Madara is my name, but some people call me The Streetfighter."

…

"No they don't."

* * *

"My name is Uchiha Madara, and this is the face… of Uchiha vengeance!"

…

"But, you're wearing a mask?"

* * *

"Tobi was a fiction created the moment I was awoken by your Admiral Marcus to help him advance his cause, a smokescreen to conceal my true identity. My name is... UCHIHA MADARA."

…

"Konoha doesn't even _have_ a navy!"

* * *

"My name is Uchiha Madara. Conjure by it at your own risk."

…

"What do you mean, _conjure_?!"

* * *

"I am Madara son of Tajima, and I am called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dunadan, the heir of Isildur, Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again! Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!"

…

"What do all those names even _mean_?!"

* * *

"My name is Uchiha Madara, a prince of Dorne. Elia was my sister. You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children."

…

"HOW DARE YOU!? I DID NO SUCH THING!"

* * *

"I am Uchiha Madara. Of Clan Uchiha."

…

"I _KNOW_! _EVERYBODY_ KNOWS! IT'S IN THE NAME, FOR KAMI'S SAKE!"

* * *

"I am Uchiha Madara, and you're standing in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up."

…

"WE ARE STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST!"

* * *

"I am Uchiha Madara of Konoha. AND YOU SHALL FEEL MY WRATH!"

"FINALLY!"

* * *

 **AN:** So, howmany references did you get? Let me know if you can't figure some of them out =)

 **Fun Fact (provided by Kitsuneswiftpaw):** Originally everyone had a unique chakra color, with Naruto's being yellow, but the anime made everyone's blue. This is still visible on a manga chapter where Naruto describes his chakra as yellow, and some manga covers show a yellow rasengan.


	15. The Fall of the Uchiha

**AN:** There's a lot that I can say about why it took me so goddamn long to update. But concidering many of those things are either personal or rather depressing I wont. All I'll say is that I was in a bad place, and now I'm not. I apologize for the long wait, and hope you enjoy this chapter. Bakkughan out.

* * *

 **Naruto and the Overpowered Academy Three**

 **Chapter 10: The Fall of the Uchiha**

For the third time, Naruto Uzumaki was enrolled in the first year of the Ninja Academy. And he was completely bored out of his mind. The material for the first year consisted of an introduction into the Shinobi World combined with a regular civilian curriculum like math and writing and such. Which meant that the first half of the year was mostly just theory, with some light physical activity thrown in.

Mostly stuff like, how do you properly use a kunai.

Which eventually boiled down to: 'poke em with the pointy bit'.

Around the halfway point of the year, students would be taught how to unlock their chakra. Them still being children, this meant that their chakra pool wasn't really usable for anything yet, but it did allow the teachers to guide the students in getting a feel for their chakra, teaching them how to manipulate it using the handseals they had learned previously.

This would eventually culminate in one of the basic Academy Three: the Henge. Each year would focus on a single jutsu, with the students having to perform all three at their final exam.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he had already listened to the material twice before (whenever he wasn't ditching class that is), had already unlocked his chakra, and his special Henge was far superior to the ordinary Henge the Academy taught. The physical portion of the Academy didn't really pose any serious challenge to him, except for spars with Uchiha Sasuke, who for some reason appeared to have taken Naruto's skill as a personal affront.

And so his first year passed in a haze of boredom, furious spars with the Uchiha genius and running away from one irate Umino Iruka, who was most often the victim of the young Uzumaki's aforementioned boredom.

Because since Naruto was unable to go prank the ANBU with Lee under the guise of training, as Lee had been far too busy taking missions and training with his new team, he simply decided to apply his skills in class instead.

Such as confetti bombs in the drawers of Iruka's new desk.

Or painting Iruka's new, new desk a vibrant orange.

Or even destroying it on accident by throwing one Uchiha Sasuke through the window and subsequently the new, new _new_ desk during one of their more heated spars.

Long story short, Iruka had to go through an inordinate amount of desks, and was forced to use hair dye by the end of the year in order to disguise his early onset of graying.

Outside of school however, Naruto still trained with the Akimichi, trying to learn from them how to use his shapeshifting in combat. It was a slow going process due to the difference in their respective abilities, and Naruto was still used to fighting with the bastardized version of the Strong Fist he had picked up under Gai's tutelage.

During these training sessions the Inuzuka were getting more and more involved as well, since they were the clan with the best senses in Konoha (barring the legendary eyes of the Hyuuga and the bugs of the Aburame, but the former weren't really interested in joining these training sessions and the latter were unable to share their form of combat with anyone not of their clan) and thus the ideal people to help train Naruto in using his new senses.

This eventually led to a tighter bond between Naruto, Kiba and Choji, who insisted on dragging his best friend Nara Shikamaru along as well.

Whenever the four of them would be together, usually in the Akimichi compound or the Nara forest, Naruto and Kiba would engage in friendly rivalry, ranging from spars at the Akimichi, or hide and seek in at the Nara.

Choji was happy to just sit there and bask in the friendly atmosphere, but Naruto had a knack for getting the rotund boy fired up and willing to jump in on the competition, which would inevitably mean that Shikamaru would be dragged along as well.

Choji and Shikamaru would always end up teaming up against Naruto and Kiba, and though both feral boys were undisputedly the better combatants of the four, with Naruto's greater chakra and more advanced taijutsu and Kiba's combo's with his partner Akamaru, their match-ups ended up in draws more often than not, Shikamaru's sheer genius an excellent companion to Choji's natural strength, which was already higher than that of Naruto and Kiba, which as part of the physically strongest clan in Konoha, would persist well into adulthood.

In response to Shikamaru's excellent tactics driving him and Kiba into Choji's (enlarged) hands, Naruto let his prankster spirit out, circumventing the young Nara's careful strategies with sheer unpredictability and sneakiness.

Initially taken off guard by the switch in tactics, Shikamaru quickly began adapting to the blonde's unorthodox way of thinking, his own mind becoming far more flexible and alert than it otherwise would have been, which combined with his raw intelligence made for a scary combo.

For a while, everything was right with the world, the bonds between the next generation of Konoha's warriors growing ever stronger, their skills increasing day by day.

Everyone was content (with the exception of Iruka of course, though the company that sold him their desks were over the moon) and so it didn't come as a surprise to the older and more cynical generation when in a single night, this peace and happiness was shattered beyond repair.

Because in one night, the Uchiha Massacre took place.

* * *

Silhouetted in darkness, a cloaked figure waited patiently underneath one of the giant Hashirama trees, waiting for his contact to finally arrive. There was no doubt in the unknown person's mind that his companion would show up at the agreed upon time.

There was too much at stake, too much already set in place, to back out now.

Finally, the stranger's patience was rewarded when a slim figure dropped down in front of him in the small clearing underneath the ancient trees.

"So, you decided to come after all, Uchiha Itachi." The figure spoke up in a leisurely tone, though his voice had an undercurrent of malice to it.

The small figure straightened itself to reveal that it indeed was young Itachi, dressed in his ANBU-gear. Despite who his companion claimed to be, and the grim task they had before them this night, his pale face didn't betray any emotion at all, his eyes settling coolly on the robed figure in front of him.

"Of course I came. It isn't like I truly had a choice in the matter, do I?"

The stranger chuckled, but it was a sound of cruelty, not amusement, as he stepped out of the shade of the trees, allowing the moonlight to illuminate the mask he wore.

"In the grand scheme of things, do any of us?"

Walking past the younger Uchiha without even looking back, the man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara made his way towards where the Uchiha Compound laid, its inhabitants unaware of the terrible fate that was about to befall them.

"Come then, young Itachi. Let us bring peace to the world."

Itachi stood rigidly alone in the clearing for a moment, before he closed his eyes in acceptance. The prodigy then turned on his heel, and followed his older clan member towards his home, ready to commit acts that would doom his soul for eternity.

They approached the walls of the compound without being noticed by the Clan's monitoring system, Itachi having been trained in avoiding them by his father and the stranger… well, he might not be who he claimed to be, but if he had been in contact with the real Uchiha Madara, then there was a pretty big chance that there wasn't a single Uchiha secret the man didn't know about.

The high wall surrounded the wall was heavily guarded, as it had been for the past few months, the security gradually increasing ever since tensions had begun to rise within the village from the moment the rumor had spread that the Uchiha had been responsible for all of the death and destruction the rampage of the Kyuubi had caused.

This was it.

The moment of no return.

The moment Uchiha Itachi would forever be branded the worst traitor the Elemental Nations had ever seen in its violent and blood-filled history.

' _For the Village. For Konoha. For Sasuke.'_ Itachi thought to himself, as he drew his tanto.

Next to him, he could feel the chakra of the stranger flex as he bent at the knees. Then as one, they cleared the tens of feet separating them from the wall in a single bound, landing on the ramparts with nothing more than the rustle of cloth and the spinning of their Sharingan.

The guards never stood a chance.

As Itachi's blade flashed through the night, spilling the blood of his family with every stroke, the impostor went on an offensive of his own, kunai finding their mark unerringly, while each hastily executed counter-attack simply missed, even as they passed straight through his body.

It took all of three minutes to clear their part of the wall, leaving only corpses in their wake.

As Itachi glanced away from his fallen clan members, he didn't feel any guilt or remorse. He didn't feel anything at all. Feeling would come later, when this night and Konoha itself were far behind him, when he could crumble apart in private.

"Our element of surprise is waning. This little scuffle won't go completely unnoticed. Let's get a move on." The unknown Uchiha said in an even tone.

Without waiting for a reply, the impostor sprung forwards, landing on the roof of a two story house, before making his way inside. Itachi didn't need his excellent senses to know that the inhabitants, be they man, woman or child were already as good as dead the moment the murderous Uchiha set foot in their home.

At least, that was what he expected, until the upper floor of the house exploded, the man calling himself Uchiha Madara jumping away from the destruction without so much a scratch. Landing next to Itachi in a crouch, the villain tilted his head in curiosity.

"Well, this certainly is unexpected."

Standing in the ruined wall of the house of some unwitting Uchiha family stood a squad of ANBU-operatives, some of them already sporting some gruesome wounds, while Itachi's Sharingan spotted a couple of their team members lying in pools of blood behind them.

' _No, not ANBU. They are ROOT._ ' Itachi wondered to himself, caught off guard by this new development.

"What is the meaning of this!?" thundered a voice above the ruckus, as the rest of the Uchiha compound stirred awake, people coming out of their houses looking disheveled and half-asleep, but instinctively brandishing their weapons.

Itachi glanced at the speaker, recognizing him as one of his great-uncles, and one of the most vehement supporters of the coup.

The answer came from an unexpected source, being so out of place it even caught the Madara-imposter of guard.

"Quite some time ago, the Hokage uncovered rumors and whispers that Madara wasn't quite as dead as everybody believed. In response to this threat, I was tasked with creating an elite ANBU team, codenamed ROOT, to hunt these rumors down, and if they proved to be true, eliminate their source. Though we didn't receive any intel that Uchiha Madara had taken on an apprentice." The dry voice of Shimura Danzo called out, as the ancient warhawk shuffled out from behind his operatives, his cane striking the floor with every step.

Itachi's mind raced faster than the Hiraishin as he tried to understand this sudden shift in events.

' _What is ROOT doing here? For that matter, what is_ Danzo _doing here? Shisui is supposed to have him contained under Kotoamatsukami… of, course! There's no way Danzo of all people would be so open with his intel and motivations. Shisui must still control him! So is that your plan, Hokage-sama? Three birds with one stone? Have your traitorous adviser redeem himself by making it appear as if his private army was your doing all along. Then get rid of him and the traitorous Uchiha, by having them fight a three way battle with the Madara imposter. But why imply that I'm aiding him?'_ Itachi thought to himself, all of this passing through his mind in less time than it would take to blink.

Next to him, the man claiming to be Madara straightened from his crouch, his posture still unbothered, despite facing a previously unknown hit squad and the waking of the Uchiha Clan, though there hung an air of danger around him as he replied.

"So, Hiruzen's attack-dog finally shows his true colors. But you should be thanking me Shimura! I am doing you and Konoha a service this night. Don't tell me you were unaware of the traitorous ambition of those I once called family?"

"Silence you dog! You claim to be our family, but to us you are a stranger! Who are you to kill our clan members, and then speak of treason?!" another elder of the Uchiha roared, unsheathing the katana that hung from his belt even as his Sharingan swirled into life.

The masked man turned his gaze on the elder who had spoken, the air filling with potent killing intent as his voice dripped with malice.

"Dog you call me. But what does that make you, I wonder. Aren't you all dogs, snapping at your chains in the end? But you forgot whose holding the leash, and now his right hand has come to strike you down." The faux-Madara growled out, as the air itself was ripped apart in a swirling vortex of nothingness, the impostor sticking his arm into the distortion without hesitation, before retrieving a katana of his own.

Cold sweat dripped down Itachi's back as he saw several Uchiha glare suspiciously at Shimura and his operatives, though his face betrayed no emotion.

"And why should I believe a word you say? Between the two of you, it is you who is covered in the blood of my kin. And you appear to have even turned my son against us. No, whatever Shimura's reasons and purpose for being here are, they can be discussed at a later point. Now, however…" a hard voice cut through the din of the assembled Uchiha and ROOT-operatives.

Itachi couldn't stop himself from tightening his grip on his tanto as his father strode through their assembled clansmen, already fully dressed and looking both alert and dangerous, his Sharingan blazing in the dimness of the night.

"… now you die. _Both_ of you."

And with those words, the battle had begun.

Itachi's father jumped at him with incredible speed, his katana leading the way, glinting in the light of the jutsu already being thrown around by the other combatants. It was only Itachi's own Sharingan and prodigious skill that allowed him to catch the tip of his father's sword on the flat of his blade, through the sheer force of Fugaku's attack cleared them both over the walls surrounding the compound and carried them deep into the woods of Konoha.

While still in mid-air, Fugaku managed to close in on his son, and put more pressure on his blade, before violently swinging his blade, slamming Itachi away from him, though the young Uchiha managed to right himself and land on his feet, though his sandals tore deep furrows through the underbrush.

Even as he settled into a defensive stance, Itachi's dōjutsu managed to pick up miniscule cracks in his tanto and the young ANBU knew that his blade wouldn't survive another clash with his father. Said father landed in the small clearing opposite his son, his expression stern but his breathing still even.

For a moment, father and son simply gazed into each other's Sharingan, neither one even moving a muscle, as the wind blew a few stray leaves in their path, the only sound being the screams of the wounded and the dying from the direction of the compound.

Even though Itachi didn't show it, he was a jumble of nerves on the inside. His father was strong, ridiculously so. He was considered as a candidate for the position of Hokage, with his opponents being the Yellow Flash and one of the Sannin, that's how powerful his old man was.

And he had just committed high treason.

Suddenly, Fugaku lowered his sword, his form suddenly slumping as if exhausted, his voice filled with weariness and pain.

"So, what's going on, Itachi. Why are Uchiha Madara and Shimura Danzo duking it out in my Clan Compound, and why is the blood of our kin staining your blade? What has that mad man promised you? What do you get out of it? All of this, just for the Mangekyō Sharingan perhaps?" his father asked, and more than anything, the defeated tone in the Clan Head's voice broke Itachi's heart.

"No. I'm doing this for Konoha. The Uchiha Coup cannot be allowed to come to pass. It would mean civil war for Konoha, and eventually total war for the entire world. I have to stop it, even if it means that I have to kill those dear to me. I will make sure Sasuke will never have to look at a mountain of corpses as I was forced to do." Itachi whispered, a tear streaking down his cheek.

His father's hand tightened on the hilt of his katana, the creak of leather filling the air between them, and for a moment, Itachi feared that his father would strike him down then and there.

"And the innocents in all of this. What of the children? The elderly? Would you cut them down too? How much is your peace worth, if it is won on the backs of those who had no stake in all of this? Isn't what you're doing right now planting a mountain of corpses at your brother's feet as well?"

His father wasn't shouting, but that just made it worse. Each statement, each word, hammered into Itachi with the force of one of Tsunade's famed punches, and the young Itachi almost buckled under the furious and desperate look Fugaku sent at him.

"I had no choice. This was the only option. I didn't want it to be this way. I didn't. It was just supposed to be the leaders of the coup, the rest… the rest would be free to pick up their lives, the Clan would come to Konoha for protection, Sasuke… Sasuke would grow up in a time of peace."

"Trust me when I say this, son; your brother will never know peace again. Not after tonight. Not after what you have done. Not after what you must still do."

Those words finally shattered Itachi's resolve, and he sunk to his knees, tears freely flowing from his eyes.

"Then what should I do. What can I do? Either Madara will slay you all, or the Uchiha will rise up against Konoha and they will destroy each other in turn." Itachi sobbed, his fists clenched in frustration.

"You must carry out your original plan."

Itachi's head whipped up in shock, his mouth falling open as he gaped at his father, the Clan Head standing tall once more, though his eyes showed a bone-crushing sadness.

"What?" Itachi whispered, but his father plowed on.

"Madara will not stop at simply eliminating the leaders of the coup, if he gets his way the entire clan will be wiped off the map. However, Shimura and his so-called ROOT will buy us enough time to evacuate the innocent. The rest of us, we shall face Madara and die in battle. We shall pass away from this world with our honor, and our children will know peace, not war." Fugaku said, his voice unwavering as he sentenced himself and his comrades to their deaths.

"But…" Itachi started to say, but cut himself off. What could he say, really? This was honestly the best result that Konoha could hope for; both of its traitorous elements eliminated driving away a third threat.

It had to be this way.

"You shall fight by Madara's side. Do not bother with the ROOT-operatives, I know that they aren't what they claim to be. My best guess is that they are Danzo's personal killers, but that hardly matters anymore. If I know Hiruzen, and I'd like to think that I do, then he'll have some way of knowing when those complicit of the coup have been eliminated, and swoop in to save the others. It's your task to slay the would-be traitors, so that reinforcements can arrive and drive Madara away, safeguarding the remaining Uchiha. Do you understand Itachi?"

Tears falling to the ground, Itachi closed his eyes, grit his teeth, and bowed his head to his father.

"Yes."

"Good. Now, you cannot hope to overcome all of the members of the coup with your current power, and if you survive this night then you'll need to be able to stand on even footing with monsters such as Madara. Your eyes aren't capable of that. Mine are."

Itachi's head snapped up again, his words dying in his throat as his father plucked out his own eyes without so much as a flinch in his movements or a hitch in his speech.

"I don't know how much you know about the next stage of the Sharingan, the Mangekyō, and its superior form, the Eternal Mangekyō, and there's no time to explain it all. But take these eyes, and make their power your own. You are going to need it." Fugaku said, as he held his eyes towards his son.

Itachi hesitated only for a few seconds, before plucking out one of his eyes. The pain was easily shunted away, though the loss of half of his field of vision was jarring. Sealing his eye away, he quickly took one of his father's eyes and implanted it in his empty socket, applying healing chakra as best he could, before repeating the process with his other eye.

He could tell he would need to get a professional medic to look at his eyes properly, but for now, his patch-up job would simply have to do. Already he could feel new power filling him as he looked at his blinded father with his new eyes.

"Have you implanted my eyes?" Fugaku asked sternly, and gave a nod as Itachi answered in the positive.

"Very well. Activate the Mangekyō form, and memorize every name I give you. This new form of the Sharingan will grant you perfect recall, so I will not have to repeat myself. They are members of the coup, and need to be eliminated. Only then can reinforcements arrive, do you understand?"

Once more, Itachi answered in the positive, shunting chakra towards his eyes as he did so. Briefly, his eyes flared up in pain, before the world shifted into a far greater clarity than he could have ever been able to imagine as blood ran down his cheeks.

His father started to rattle of names, urgency slipping into his speech as the sound of battle grew more intense, great pillars of flame illuminating the night sky. They had already lingered for too long.

"… Uchiha Yashiro, Uchiha Tekka and finally…. Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Fugaku."

It was as someone had dropped a bucket of ice water into his veins, but all that Itachi could do was accept his new mission.

"Do you recall every name?"

"Yes." Itachi whispered.

"Can you identify every name?"

"Yes." Itachi whispered again, unable to keep his voice from shaking.

"Then I hereby give you your final mission as Head of Clan Uchiha: Uchiha Itachi, kill every single person I have named. Do you accept?"

"Y-yes." Itachi chocked out.

A large hand clamped on his shoulder, and his father's voice softly smoothed his troubled mind.

"I wish it would have gone differently my son. I truly do. Keep an eye on Sasuke. He will struggle dealing with all of this. Anyone would."

"I understand father. I will. I promise."

And with those words, Itachi drove his tanto through his father's heart. Fugaku stiffened, before giving a weary sigh, slowly falling towards the ground, leaving his son standing in the small clearing by himself, tears of blood marring his cheeks.

Itachi sobbed once. Only once. Then he wiped his face with his sleeve, steeled his resolve and killed his heart, and made his way back towards the Compound.

His task was not yet done.

With a leap, he crossed the high walls of the Uchiha Estate and landed in hell. Fire raged everywhere, the Uchiha's easiest element springing eagerly to their defense but also destroying their home. The streets were filled with the corpses of both ROOT and Uchiha, and not all of them were of shinobi age Itachi noticed, dragging his eyes away from the still form of a young woman trying to shield a small bloodied bundle with her body even in death.

Further down the street, a battle of epic proportions was taking place, as a group of Uchiha and ROOT-operatives were giving it their all to destroy the figure flitting in-between their midst, sometimes moving so fast even the Sharingan thought it to be teleportation.

While the masked figure was still driving his opponents back, felling an enemy with every swing of his sword, he hadn't come out of the battle entirely unscathed, several patches of his wide robe burned and charred, and Itachi's new Sharingan managed to spot what appeared to be a hairline crack in the man's mask.

' _So, you can be harmed. That means you can be killed. Good.'_ Itachi thought coldly, before closing in on the battle with the fastest Shunshin he had ever preformed in his life, coming to a halt right in front of a charging Uchiha.

The man wasn't all that older than Itachi was, and in a single glance with his Mangekyō Itachi noticed that he looked more scared than anything else.

It didn't matter.

His name was on the list.

With a single swing upwards, Itachi's tanto cleft the young man in half, already moving onto his next victim before the man's body parts hit the floor.

He had killed five of his clan members before someone caught on.

"TRAITOR!" came from behind him, and Itachi looked over his shoulder.

It was one of his uncles, who-knew-how-many-times-removed, and proud member of the Konoha Military Police, as evidenced by the _Jutte_ he expertly twirled around. The cop made to close in, but Itachi's Mangekyō pulsed once and the man died screaming in a blaze of unquenchable black flames.

"Amaterasu." Itachi muttered, before turning to look at his other clan members, many of whom shrunk away from his gaze.

'Madara' landed besides him, his tone unnaturally light considering the situation.

"So, I see you have unlocked the next evolution of our eyes. Well, I suppose if there was ever a way to unlock them, tonight would be the time for it. We'll have to talk some more on it when this is all said and done."

"You and I have _nothing_ to discuss." Itachi seethed through clenched teeth, but the stranger's retort turned the blood in his veins into ice.

"Of course we do. Quite a lot, in fact. Starting with the intriguing little fact that so far, you have yet to be attacked by a single of these so-called ROOT-agents." The masked man said, his voice harsh and filled with hate.

Itachi was spared a reply as both he and the cloaked figure dodged away from each other, the ground which they had occupied not even a second ago being blasted apart by gales of wind sharper than any ordinary sword.

The moment the man claiming to be Madara landed on his feet (once more, without having suffered any visible damage) he was attacked, a wind-laced kunai cutting straight through his form as if it weren't even there.

"That is quite some arrogance you have, if you think you have time to chat with me as your opponent." The aged voice of Shimura Danzo said, as he stood in front of the masked man in a crouch, wind-kunai in hand and with an impressive scowl marring his bandaged face.

The faux-Madara simply shifted the grip on his bloodied katana as he regarded his enemy.

"Really? And why should I be cowed by having you as my opponent, Shimura Danzo? What have I to fear from a decrepit old man such as you?"

Danzo simply raised his eyebrow as he nodded at where he had slashed at the man's shoulder.

"I cut you didn't I?"

The masked man looked at his shoulder in surprise, visibly taken off guard by the small rip in the rough material of his cloak, the cut showing all the signs of having been made with wind-natured chakra.

A dark drop of blood welled up in the tear, before dripping over the cloak.

"Clearly you have some upper limit to how fast you can turn intangible. Let's test that limit shall we?" Danzo said coolly.

The masked man didn't say anything, simply letting out a growl as he gripped his katana tighter, before closing in on Danzo, who made his own counter-attack, and the battle was picked up once more.

Meanwhile, Itachi was tearing through his clan members, his naturally greater talents elevated to even greater heights by the power of his new eyes. From all directions Ninjutsu and Genjutsu flew his way, but the Genjutsu might as well be non-existent and no Ninjutsu could match-up to the powers granted by his eyes.

Everywhere he looked the world went up in ebony flames, every time he gazed in his opponents eyes when they tried to trap them with their dōjutsu they were left catatonic the moment he looked away, and his tanto claimed a life with every flash of its stained steel.

Steadily, as his world burned down around him, his family's bodies cooling at his feet, he crossed the people of his list, one by one, until after what felt like an eternity only one was left.

Uchiha Mikoto.

His mother was covered in soot and ash, while behind her several people of varying ages were cowering behind her, only a few of them handling weapons and even fewer of them showing an active Sharingan.

But they weren't his target, they were innocent of the foolishness and hate of the Uchiha who had stood behind the coup.

Only his mother was left.

"Itachi… my son… why?" his mother sobbed, even as she kept her sword raised in his direction.

His mother's tearful voice cut deeper than anything else he had experienced so far this hellish night, but he couldn't fall apart.

Not yet.

"Where's Sasuke?"

His mother's eyes widened, before her face twisted in anger as she snarled at her eldest son.

"I do not know what has happened to you, Itachi, but you will _never_ get to Sasuke!"

"Mother." Itachi's voice cut through his mother's tirade, cutting of whatever rightful rant she was about to unleash on him.

"Is he safe?"

His words seemed to take his mother aback, before she narrowed her eyes and studied his face. Her gaze rested on his newly gained Mangekyō and he could see something in her expressions shift, traces of horror, despair, and finally what seemed to be understanding.

Finally she gave a stiff nod.

"Yes."

That was all Itachi needed in order to clear the space between him and Mikoto faster than she was able to react, his tainted tanto raised to cut her down, as he had done with so many others this night.

Before he could strike however, they made eye contact.

"Tsukuyomi."

Colors inverted as the world fell away. With a sickening lurch, as if the entirety of existence had been yanked a few feet to the left, Itachi and his mother found themselves in another world, a red moon casting everything in a crimson hue.

For a moment, neither one said a word, letting the silence stretch out between them, before finally his mother spoke.

"So it is true then. Fugaku has sacrificed himself."

Itachi was startled by the softly said statement, before allowing his shoulders to sag in defeat.

"How did you know?"

His mother gave a bitter chuckle, her voice brittle and her face showing only crushing despair.

"After about 20 years of marriage, one comes to recognize their husband's eyes. Even when they're looking at you from someone else's face. And you and I both know that a battle between the two of you would be felt across the entirety of Konoha, and even if you were to emerge the victor, then you wouldn't be able to stand before me so unharmed as you are. I seriously doubt you'd be able to stand at all. So he gave up his eyes voluntarily." His mother explained, before she sank to her knees.

"Oh Fugaku… why? Why is all of this happening? Itachi… please, tell me what's going on!" Mikoto cried, and across from her, her son's heart shattered in a million fragments.

"The coup had to be stopped mother. The Uchiha are strong, yes, but to think the rest of Konoha is weak is the height of foolishness. We would never have been able to seize control without enormous amounts of bloodshed. Even if we were to emerge victorious from the ashes, we would never have the support of the citizens and the other Clans. Konoha would be in a state of civil war, and the other Nations would be all too eager to jump on our weakened Village and pick off whatever scraps remained.

I couldn't allow it. I wouldn't allow the hubris of the Clan to doom Sasuke to a lifetime of war." Itachi explained, his voice filled with unshed tears.

"And this is better? The destruction of the Uchiha? You're dooming Sasuke all the same!" his mother screamed at him, and Itachi reeled back as if he had been struck.

For a moment, both didn't say anything, the only sound in Itachi's distorted world being the quiet sobbing of his mother.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way." Itachi softly whispered, but his mother heard him all the same and looked at him through watery eyes.

"At first, Shisui was supposed to convince you all to consider peace using his special jutsu. But then Danzo screwed everything up, and assassination became the only option. But only the supporters of the coup. The innocent would be spared, and allowed to grow up without the hatred of the older generations marring their views. But then someone calling himself Madara showed up and… and things became worse from there." Itachi explained, feeling some of the immeasurable weight lift off his chest as he confided about what happened to someone for the first time since he had been given his original assignment by the Hokage, what seemed like a lifetime ago now.

His mother looked at him with wide eyes, her face covered in tear tracks, before she softly grabbed his sleeve and pulled him down so he was kneeling in front of her, looking at her at eye-level.

"Tell me everything."

And Itachi did.

At first just about the events leading up to this hellish night, but soon he began to talk about anything that came to him, a waterfall of words as he spoke more during those hours than he had spoken his entire lifetime.

He spoke about his fears and his dreams, about his regrets and insecurities. He spoke about Sasuke, and how he worried what would become of his beloved little brother. He spoke about Izumi, a girl whose mother was from the Uchiha clan and who he had started to develop feelings for.

For hours and hours he spoke with his mother about everything that came to mind, Mikoto simply listening without interruption, eventually smiling softly as her eldest son bared his heart to her.

But eventually Itachi trailed off, a desolate expression on his face. His mother caught on immediately.

"The jutsu is about to end, isn't it?"

"Time between the Tsukuyomi and the real world doesn't flow the same, but it does flow. During the hours we have been talking, in the corresponding seconds in the real world my attack has continued its course. In about a minute in Tsukuyomi-time, which would be less than half a second in the real world, you will have died, and this technique will fall apart." Itachi explained, grabbing his mother in a tight hug.

"I don't want this to end." Itachi whispered brokenly, feeling his mother hug him back.

"Neither do I my son. But even the might of your Genjutsu must yield to reality eventually. I wish things could have gone differently. Looking back, there were so many other paths we could have taken, so many what-ifs and could have beens. But the reality is that we didn't do any of those, and so we ended up here."

Pulling back a bit, Mikoto took her son's face in her hands, her calloused fingers gently caressing his wet cheeks.

"Know that I still love you, Itachi. I know your father never really showed it that much, but he too loved you very much, and both he and I are proud of your strength. No matter what road your life may end up taking, always remember that that will _never_ change, do you understand my son?"

Not trusting his voice, Itachi simply nodded, before burying his face in the crook of his mother's neck, sobbing as she gently rocked him back and forth. They sat there for a few precious moments, before cracks started to appear in the red-colored sky, rapidly spreading to encompass the entire world, before finally shattering into millions of pieces, leaving mother and son huddled together in a vast, unending whiteness.

"I love you, my son."

And then the whiteness disappeared as reality rushed back in, and Itachi opened his eyes to see his tanto buried up to the hilt in his mother's chest. He glanced up at her face, only to see that life had already left her, though her face was surprisingly serene, without any of the pain or anguish it had shown mere seconds ago.

Guiding his mother's body gently to the floor, Itachi saw a well-hidden ROOT-agent staring at him intently. Giving an almost imperceptible little nod, the black-ops ninja made a handseal, his chakra pulsing briefly, before the agent fled the scene.

Not moments later, a massively thick and potent slammed down on the entirety of the Clan Compound. Turning to look around, Itachi saw a small army of ninja standing at the burned out gates, and in front of them, having shed the wide robes of his position and showing the ancient armor underneath, stood Sarutobi Hiruzen, somehow towering over every other ninja there, despite his small stature.

Enma was already in his staff-form in his hand, and the Third Hokage's eyes glinted with steel and fury, though Itachi's superior eyes read another emotion: Sadness, and regret.

Once more, the masked man landed next to Itachi, and though he didn't notice any wounds on the man, he did observe that 'Madara' landed rather heavily, and his hearing picked up labored breathing from his companion.

"Well, it seems things just got interesting, didn't they? I think it's time that Konoha learned the meaning of pain once more." The imposter said menacingly as he straightened, before a swirling vortex began to appear in the midst of the assembled shinobi-

BLAM!

-before 'Madara' was taken clear of his feet by Emma slamming in his abdomen. It was a credit to the man's strength that he didn't crumple into a pile of broken bones, instead flipping around in the air and managing to land on his feet, though he couldn't quite keep a grunt from escaping him.

"Well done, young Hiruzen. That is the first clean hit someone has managed to land on me in a long time. How did you figure out how to do it?" The masked man said as he straightened once more, his voice steady.

Enma retracted into a more manageable length as the Third Hokage glared at the man, his chakra swirling around him with such intensity it doused the flames around him with its sheer pressure.

"I did not earn the title of The Professor just for nothing. I recognize that technique, _Madara_ , and though I do not know for certain how you make yourself as intangible as a ghost, I _do_ know that Kamui is an advanced enough technique that it is nearly impossible to keep another technique going alongside it. In short, you can either attack with it, or be in a ghost-like state, but not simultaneously." Hiruzen explained grimly, making sure to pitch his voice so his forces caught on as well.

It might have been seen as spilling Clan secrets under any other circumstance, but considering the threat of their opponent and the state of the Uchiha, it really didn't matter all that much.

"And how do you know that my 'ghost state', as you put it, is not simply a result of my new state of being? After all, isn't it taught in your precious Academy that I died long ago at the Valley of the End?" the masked man mocked, though Itachi could tell he was unnerved, since he made no move to attack, and his stance was that of someone ready to flee at a moment's notice.

In response, Hiruzen smiled grimly.

It was a terrifying sight.

"If that were true, then I wouldn't have been able to hit you just now, wouldn't I?"

For a moment, there hung a heavy silence, before 'Madara' scoffed, and turned around.

"What a clever monkey you have become, Hiruzen. But be warned; all of this, is neither the beginning nor the end of my revenge on Konoha. You will know absolute despair, Hiruzen, and it shall be at _my_ hands." The masked man threw over his shoulder as he began to walk away.

"You think I'm just going to let you leave?! After all that you have done here?!" the Third Hokage roared at the man's retreating back, making him pause in his stride.

"Well, to be fair, young Hiruzen, you do have a history of simply standing there and letting traitors to the Leaf run away." The man mocked, but the Hokage's reply was as fast as a whip.

"Then you should also take note of the history of every traitor to the Village opting to run away from me rather than face me in battle. Which now includes you."

'Madara' stiffened at the verbal barb, before letting out a low growl, as a swirling vortex began to consume his form. A storm of jutsu and metal rained down on where his form had been moments ago, Enma slamming into the ground just before the man disappeared, before the dust settled, revealing that the traitor had managed to escape.

Feeling the eyes of the assembled ninja settle on him, Itachi decided that it was time he left as well. While he would welcome death at this point, the hints that the masked man had dropped in their first conversation meant that his task was not yet done.

An internal threat to Konoha had been taken care of this night, now it was time to tackle a far more dangerous external threat.

It was time to take up 'Madara's' offer of joining Akatsuki.

A towering wall of black flame sprang up between him and the small army come to kill him, but not before he had made eye contact with the Third Hokage. There was nothing but sorrow and regret in the aged Sarutobi's eyes, before the leader gave the smallest of nods.

Mission accomplished.

And with that, Uchiha slinked away into the night, seeking out a man claiming to be the first traitor in Konoha's history, in order to join his world-threatening organization.

It would be five years before he would ever set foot again in his home village.

* * *

The Uchiha Massacre shocked the entirety of Konoha. I'd like to say it shocked the world, but it was kept strictly under wraps by the Hokage, only allowing trickles of information to leak to the other Villages.

The only thing that the rest of the world knew was that there had been a dissent in the ranks of the Uchiha, which left only most of the children and the elderly alive, and a small portion of their active shinobi.

The other Villages made two conclusions from this information. One, the Uchiha, and Konoha by extension, were severely weakened after losing a sizeable amount of able-bodied and above averagely powerful warriors.

Two, and this was far more unsettling, apparently there were individuals out there that were so ridiculously powerful that they were capable of wiping out the majority of one of the strongest clans on the continent.

And Konoha was powerful enough to kill these individuals, or at least send them running, ever while still recovering of having a Demon stomping around their Village.

So in the end, everybody decided to simply do nothing, though all eyes were now trained on the oldest Hidden Village, the rest of the Nations holding their breath, wondering whether this meant the end of Konoha, or the birth of their next generation of monstrously powerful legendary warriors.

Exactly as Hiruzen had hoped.

The rest of Konoha was also shocked by the news of Shimura Danzo's death, who on his Hokage's orders had assembled a team of elite-shinobi to track down, evaluate and eliminate the threat of Uchiha Madara, who appeared to be still alive, despite having to be around a hundred years old by now.

Danzo had valiantly come to the Uchiha's defense and had even engaged the legendary ninja in one-on-one combat, allowing the young and the elderly to be evacuated to safety. However, the wounds he had been dealt by the ancient Uchiha were too much, and when he had been found on the battlefield, he had just enough energy left for a private conversation with his old friend and rival, the Third Hokage kneeling in the dirt and bowed over the body of his advisor, before the aged Sarutobi stood up and regretfully told the ninja present of the passing of the aged ninja.

To Konoha's credit, it's villagers were both outraged and shocked at the news of the Uchiha Clan's near destruction, and in no time relief efforts had been set up, the traumatized remaining members of the Clan being offered housing with the other Clans and with even individual ninja and civilians alike opening their homes to the diminished dōjutsu users.

After several weeks of administrative whirlwinds and head-aches, a new Compound had been erected where there once used to be the Konoha's Military Police's Headquarters, the task of the Police having temporarily taken over by ANBU, there being too few Uchiha left to take the responsibility upon themselves.

Not a single one was in any state to do any police work at any rate, though not one person blamed them.

Already there were talks of filling the Uchiha's ranks with those of the other Clans in order to get the Police Force up and running again. A cop with an Inuzuka for a partner, or a Hyuuga, was a terrifying prospect for any criminal.

Uchiha Shisui, by dint of being the most senior active duty ninja of his clan, was made interim Clan Head, having announced he would only hold the position until Uchiha Sasuke was of age and could take the positon that was his by birth.

The young Uchiha had been almost comatose for about a week after the Massacre, the death of his parents at the hands of none other than his own brother almost crushing him with guilt. Through gentle guidance of Shisui and some of the elders, the young child was dragged out of his shell bit by bit, though Sasuke was forever changed.

While he used to be a happy and rather care-free child before the Massacre, he had now become a solemn and intense youth, determined to work himself to death so that he was worthy of leading his fellow Uchiha children, many of them orphaned as he was, and with nobody to really look up to.

Entire days were spent either training, studying Clan responsibilities and politics and brooding over how he would avenge all the fallen members of his family.

He would've burned himself out long before he had even graduated from the Academy if it weren't for Naruto.

One day, a few weeks after Sasuke had come back to school, Naruto and he were once again pitted against each other in a sparring match. While they had been rather evenly matched before, Naruto's greater experience and raw strength competing against Sasuke's natural genius, now they were rather one-sided, Sasuke attacking with a ferocity and intensity that Naruto, for all his rambunctiousness, was rather hesitant to match.

However, after weeks having suddenly become the young Uchiha's stress-relief, Naruto had had enough, and used what he had learned from Gai in order to give a solid beating to Sasuke, who returned the favor in equal measure, until they weren't so much sparring as simply rolling around on the ground trying to bash each other's skulls in. Surprisingly, it wasn't Iruka who jumped in, but Choji and Shikamaru, Choji's enlarged hands and Shikamaru's shadow pinning the combatants so they were separated.

Both boys were panting heavily, staring intently at the other, completely ignoring Iruka's ranting as they studied each other's face.

Finally it was Naruto who spoke up first, catching both Sasuke and Iruka off guard.

"It's gonna be okay, you know?"

Sasuke stiffened, before glaring at the blond with a murderous expression.

"I'm not saying it's gonna be okay _now_ , or tomorrow or next week or even next month. But eventually, it _will_ be okay. Eventually, the pain goes away."

By now, Choji and Shikamaru released their hold on the combatants, as even Iruka fell silent, waiting for the raven-haired boy's answer. Sasuke seemed to struggle with finding his words, balling his hands into tight fists, the split skin on his knuckles beginning to tear open again.

Finally Sasuke whispered his reply, refusing to look at anything other than the ground.

"How? How did you make your pain go away?"

In response, Naruto walked up to the Uchiha legacy, clasping his shoulder with one of his bloodied hands, giving a smile which showed several teeth having been knocked loose.

"You fill that pain, that emptiness. You fill it with friends." Naruto said, nodding his head to where Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji were watching them intently.

"Friends, huh?" Sasuke muttered, following Naruto's gaze, before looking at the blonde again.

"Yeah. Tell you what, after class, we were gonna go to the Akimichi for some training, wanna come with?"

For a moment, it seemed as it the Uchiha Heir would decline, but then Sasuke recalled Shisui's face, and all those young Uchiha, who like him had lost so much.

Who had lost too much.

Sasuke had every intention of restoring the Clan to its former glory, he would make sure that his remaining family members would be part of something strong and mighty, not live like the charity cases they were now.

He would wash away the stain of treason his brother had left on him by becoming the very best Clan Head anybody could ever hope for.

This included political alliances.

While Sasuke would much rather train on his own, he couldn't ignore the fact that he had just been invited to an informal gathering where the children of three Clan Heads would be present and one of the few remaining Uzumaki.

So in the end, Sasuke saw only one option.

"Very well. I shall meet you all there."

As time wore on, Sasuke found to his surprise that he enjoyed these training sessions more than he had expected.

While Naruto and Kiba could be insufferable loudmouths, and the lack of ambition and drive in the Akimichi and the Nara boys could raise his hackles, he could not deny that training with them proved to be very beneficial.

For all their brashness, Naruto was a genuinely strong opponent, his year under Gai and the Akimichi's tutelage leaving him with very decent taijutsu, especially for someone their age. And while Kiba might not be as much of a physical powerhouse like the Uzumaki, the feral boy had an undeniable edge whenever they decided to train in the Nara woods, his senses unmatched by any of the other boys.

And while he and Choji didn't quite mesh, Sasuke occasionally found he enjoyed the rotund boy's steady presence, which sometimes proved to be rather soothing to Sasuke's frazzled nerves after a particularly bad day.

And even though Shikamaru's laziness made his blood boil, Sasuke couldn't deny the Nara boy's sharp mind and clever wit, the genius capable of making up complicated strategies faster than Sasuke could blink.

And so, when the first year of the Academy ended, and all of them managed to perform the Henge and advance to the next year, Sasuke, in the privacy of his own mind at least, admitted to himself that something had happened that he hadn't thought possible anymore a few months ago.

He had made friends.

* * *

 **Fun Fact:** Standing at an impressive 193,5 cm (roughly 6,4") Ibiki Morino is oficially the tallest shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. Since I'm Dutch, being over 6 feet isn't something that I find all that special: we are the tallest people in the world, and about half my friends are taller than Ibiki by a couple of inches.


	16. New Beginnings, Old Regrets

**Chapter 11: New Beginnings, Old Regrets**

* * *

Sasuke grunted as he felt the air being forced from his lungs as he hit the ground with a painful smack. Coughing, the young Uchiha worked himself back to his feet, heaving great gulps of air, trying to regain his composure. Taking a deep breath, the raven haired boy centered himself and slid back into the combat stance of his family.

"Again."

Standing across from him in a small clearing within the deep woods of the Nara Clan, Naruto Uzumaki rubbed the back of his head in apprehension, a purple bruise blossoming on the left side of his face. When it came to prospective Genin, Naruto's taijustu was among the top five, as his technique was above average, but his endurance, strength and experience were on a whole other level than those of his peers.

Unfortunately, Sasuke Uchiha was another prospective Genin in the top five in terms of strength and skill and he made sure to remind Naruto of that every chance he got.

"You sure about this? You know how Shika gets when we ignore his scenario's so we can fight."

Sasuke merely narrowed his onyx eyes, as he tensed his muscles in preparation of a fight. He knew the Uzumaki couldn't resist a test of his strength. Like himself, Naruto was filled with an ambition that ruled every waking moment of every hour.

"Please. You know that Inuzuka will have already sniffed out where the flag is and will be charging for it first. Akimichi will be on defense, as he always is. And Nara will probably stick around Akimichi, keeping an eye out on you and Inuzuka to make a break for the flag, looking for an opportunity to take you down. Really, I'm doing him a favor here. So, fight me."

Conflicting emotions crossed Naruto's face as he tried to find a way around the Uchiha's arguments before giving up with an explosive sigh. While his grasp on tactics was high enough to have actually followed Sasuke's reasoning, thanks to Choza's patient and often violent teachings, he would always remain a scrapper at hart.

He simply preferred fighting over thinking, he couldn't help it.

Sliding into his own stance, which was becoming more and more unique to himself as he started to combine both the Akimichi fighting style with Goken and even some moves he picked up from fighting Sasuke all the time, Naruto gave a determined nod to the boy in front of him.

"Bring it, dattebayo!"

For a moment both combatants remained perfectly still, before they simultaneously shot off the ground at each other, fists cocked back in preparation of an epic clash-

"Tsuuga!"

-only to desperately dodge to the side at the very last moment, as what appeared to be the love-child of a tornado and a missile slammed down in the middle of the clearing, throwing up dust and debris.

Naruto and Sasuke both managed to land on their feet, shaken but not deterred as a dizzy Kiba stumbled from the grooved crater he'd made. Both children prepared to push off, intent on finishing their battle-

"Kagemane no Jutsu, success."

"Bubun Baika no Jutsu!"

-Naruto glared down at his feet in shock, seeing their shadow stretch unnaturally back into the bushes, where he could see the shadowed form of Shikamaru hold up the Rat sign. Sasuke meanwhile felt himself being engulfed by a hand that was about as large as his torso. He tried to squirm his way too freedom, but since his arms were pinned to his side he was unable to perform any ninjutsu.

"The hell Shika!?" Naruto yelled, as he strained to look over his shoulder, steadily drawing on his enormous chakra reserves, causing sweat to pool on the young Nara's brow as he struggled to contain the blonde Uzumaki.

"Tch. You know Sasuke, you weren't all that far off with your deduction. But if you think we're getting predictable, then you really need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. I knew that if you and Naruto ran into each other, you simply couldn't resist to try and beat each other to a pulp. So I simply made it look as if your deduction was correct, before using Kiba's superior senses to double back and track you down."

Sasuke stilled his struggles, though his onyx eyes flashed in irritation.

"Very clever, Nara. But you're talking as if you've already won. We all know that me and Naruto are the top combatants of our group. You've tracked us down, but can you defeat us before the chakra for your restraining techniques run out?" the Uchiha coolly said, his eyes flicking to the struggling Naruto, who's skin had begun to give off a slight blue glow.

Meeting eyes, the two rivals shared a smirk, and prepared for a whole different kind of fight.

Hidden under the trees of his Clan's forest, Shikamaru let out a bitter chuckle.

"Well, can't say you haven't gotten me by surprise there, Sasuke. You and Naruto teaming up? Guess we should be flattered. Apparently our skills have progressed enough that you see us as such a threat that you're willing to work together. You want a fight? Very well, then prepare to lose."

And with that, Shikamaru burst from the undergrowth in a dead sprint-

"What the hell, dattebayo!?"

-forcing Naruto to run forwards as well. Choji caught on immediately, and threw Sasuke at the involuntary charging Uzumaki, while Shikamaru forced his arm up in a picture perfect clotheswing.

The tactic, having caught Naruto and Sasuke completely off guard, worked like a charm, and with a heavy smack, Naruto's arm caught Sasuke in the upper chest, slamming the young Uchiha into the ground.

However, as the sprint and the sudden impact had canceled the Shadow Imitation Technique on Naruto, and Choji had released Sasuke from his Partial Multi-size Technique, this meant that both boys were now free from their constraints.

And they were itching for pay-back.

Sasuke climbed to his feet, ignoring the additional bruise to his chest as he gathered shuriken and kunai in his hand, his skill with thrown weapons unequaled by all of his peers with the exception of some girl named Tenten.

Naruto meanwhile simply loosened the control on his chakra, exploding in a blue colored aura that whipped his clothes in a sudden wind, while his spikey hair stood on end. Cracking his knuckles and his neck, Naruto let out a challenging grin, showing off pointed canines.

The grin was matched fang for fang by a recovered Kiba, having regained some of his chakra and overcome his dizziness, now flanked by Choji, who was desperately munching on some high-calorie sweets, and a tired looking Shikamaru, though his eyes were flashing with plots and tactics, even as his hands settled once more in a Rat seal.

For a moment, the two impromptu teams stared at each other, before on some unseen sign, they all charged, Jutsu being thrown around abundantly, while feet and fists clashed with meaty sounds, as they all yelled in exertion.

And a great time was had by all.

* * *

"Here's what I don't get."

"Hmm? What do _you_ of all people don't get?"

"Ha ha, look at that, the Uchiha made a joke. I think the end-times missed their schedule and came a few millennia too early."

"Whatever Nara, just play already."

Sitting in the cool shade of a tree in the middle of the playground of the Academy, Shikamaru and Sasuke were seated in front of each other, a banged up and well-worn travel sized Go set placed between them.

Sitting next to them, keeping one concealed eye on their game and another on the bug preening itself on his outstretched fingertip sat Shino Aburame. The very definition of the 'silent type' Shikamaru had challenged the boy to a Go match one day after Sasuke had been frustrated by one too many defeats and had walked off in a huff, looking for Kiba or Naruto to get into a fight with.

While Shikamaru and Shino had played their match, the three other boys getting into a four-way battle royal, having inadvertently caught up Choji in it when one of them accidentally kicked his bag of chips to the ground, the Nara managed do draw the quiet Aburame into conversation, discovering that the bug user was a very intelligent person and not nearly as creepy as everybody had made him and his Clan out to be.

After that day, where Shino had lost the match, of course, and all of the boys had lost the fight to an irate Iruka, whose desk had been smashed once again, this time by Choji throwing Sasuke through it, Shino began to occasionally join them during recess, his quiet nature and fierce intelligence making him fit in with Shikamaru and Sasuke, whenever the latter boy got fed up by the loud-mouths of their group.

"What is it that you do not get, Shikamaru-san? Why do I wish to know? Because I dislike being kept in suspense".

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, just a sec." Shikamaru replied, his eyes focused on the Go board in front of him, before he moved his piece several paces with a nonchalant air, making Sasuke snort in disgust when he realized that he'd now loose the match in a few turns if he didn't come up with a counter strategy immediately, forsaking his own attack in the process.

Hiding a grin in order not to set off the prideful Uchiha, Shikamaru turned to Shino, ignoring Sasuke for now, who sat fuming at his side of the board, fervently murmuring to himself.

"Well, the Sharingan copies every technique it sees, correct?"

At the mention of his Clan's dojutsu, Sasuke's head shot up, the match forgotten for now.

"That is correct." Shino replied.

"And whatever technique the eye copies, the wielder can use with the same level as skill as the shinobi the technique was copied from, correct."

Shino thought for a moment, before calmly nodding, though Sasuke's expression got more intense as he tried to figure out where the Nara was going with this.

"Well, _here's_ what I don't get. Why don't they copy from each other? The Sharingan essentially removes the need to train a technique all together. Just think about it, a single Uchiha comes across a pretty awesome technique on one of his missions and copies it. If he'd show it to all the Sharingan wielding ninja of the Clan, than the Uchiha as a whole gain a new technique and become stronger as a result. Or what about a ninja who has just awakened his Sharingan? Instead of wasting time teaching them ninjutsu , you can immediately jump to tactics by just showing him all of the techniques the Uchiha have amassed and have his ninjutsu training covered in like, a day or something."

Shino tilted his head, deep in thought, while Sasuke stared at Shikamaru as if the boy had just told him that the sky was actually purple.

"Hmm. If this was implemented, the overall strength of the Uchiha would increase exponentially. Why? Because, there would be no difference in strength, at least ninjutsu wise, as they would all possess the skill of their strongest member. Every new addition to their forces would quickly be on the level of their strongest member and if one Uchiha learns something new, they will all learn it. A sound strategy."

Both boys turned to look at Sasuke, who still hadn't said a word, his eyes focused on something far away as he tried to wrap his head around what this could mean for his Clan and it's future.

"A sound strategy, indeed…"

* * *

"You want us to do _what_?"

Shisui Uchiha stared in confusion at his future Clan Head, even as he held the position himself for now. His confusion was mirrored by the other Sharingan wielding members of the Uchiha Clan, having gathered in the practice yard on Sasuke's request.

There were only around twenty people there, and of those twenty, eight were too old to be active duty at all, and four more were active shinobi, but only in supporting roles as they were simply too old or too young to be any use in live combat.

Shisui's thoughts briefly flickered to the Third Hokage, considering just how stupidly _powerful_ the aged leader's life-force and chakra must be for the man to be still considered among the most powerful ninja alive, even nearing the age of seventy, which was almost twice as old as the average life-expectancy for most ninja.

His thoughts were inevitably brought back to consider the pitifully small group of ninja around him and he couldn't quite shake the sheer guilt and despair that threatened to crush his very soul.

' _So few. So few of us are left. And it's all_ my _fault.'_ He admitted to himself, before he tried to steel his mind.

' _Which makes them my responsibility. I have brought this misery upon them, it's my duty to see them through it. I can collapse later, when Sasuke is strong enough to lead and protect them.'_

Depression averted, for now, Shisui turned his attention back to his best friend's younger brother, who stood tall before the disbelieving eyes of his Clan members.

"The strongest of us will showcase all of their techniques, while everybody else will copy them. Following them, those of you who have techniques not yet shown will demonstrate them in turns, meaning that by the end of today, every single one of us will share the same knowledge."

"But… but why?" one of the elder shinobi croaked.

While Shisui knew that all of the ninja here were loyal to both him and Sasuke, as well as Konoha ( _'they wouldn't be alive if they weren't'_ ), this blatant breach with tradition was still something they found difficult to swallow.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and for a moment Shisui feared the boy would lose control of his volatile temper. Sasuke had been twisted by the Massacre, more so than others, and had developed both a temper, and a very short fuse in contrast with the sweet boy Shisui knew the child had once been.

Sasuke however surprised everybody there when he let out a tired sigh. For all that he was but a child, Sasuke had still managed to build an image of strength around himself, the promise of a better and safer future for his Clan, which had done much to ensure that he was still in line for Clan Head even after the kinslaying of his brother.

He never tried to show weakness, not to anyone, so the drawn expression on his face and his sagging shoulders caught many of them off-guard.

"It's because we are weak."

Protests and assurances came from the assembled shinobi, but with a sharp gesture of his hand, Sasuke silenced them, much to the hidden envy of Shisui, who had often tried to do the same, with not nearly as impressive results.

"We _are_ weak. We may wish that we weren't, we may delude ourselves into thinking that we still hold the power we once did, but the simple truth is that this is no longer the case. Not after… not after t-that night. Much knowledge and skill was lost, and on top of that, a message was sent out to the world: the Uchiha are not invincible."

Sasuke stared at his desperate looking people with grim eyes as he continued.

"Doing this will not only make most of you more powerful. It will also mean that whenever one of us… doesn't make it back, that we don't lose any _more_ power. We simply cannot afford it. On top of that, I will soon reach the age to unlock the Sharingan myself, and there are still the other Uchiha children. We cannot waste time being trained; we _need_ to be able to approach whatever few members are available to us at any given time and be trained in all of the knowledge the Uchiha possess at once."

Sasuke clapped his small hands, the sound still startling loud in the silenced yard.

"Now then, get to practicing. Do not limit it to just ninjutsu, share any skills you think the Sharingan will allow you to share with your Clan. We need to become more powerful, and _fast_. Good luck."

With muttered agreements and thanks, the small crowd split up into groups and soon the yard was filled with Jutsu, while the red of the Sharingan shone in the growing dusk, tomoes spilling madly as the Uchiha made their first tentative steps into taking their Clan towards a new, stronger and brighter future.

* * *

Hiruzen sat at his desk, only illuminated by the light of the moon and the soft glow from his pipe, files and reports strewn haphazardly in front of him. The Hokage's eyes were however locked on something only he could see, as he puffed out clouds of smoke, deep in thought.

Dismantling Danzo's Root had been a major headache, simply because there was so much of it. Thankfully records were kept on the most basic of things, so stuff like tracking down and reassigning the Root operatives was relatively easy, though their emotionally stunted nature made it a nightmare of its own to integrate them in such a way that they wouldn't rise any suspicion.

But then there were all of Danzo's own secret little projects. Thankfully the information pumping done by Shisui had not only given them the location of most of them as well as many of the security measures that had been used, but Hiruzen had still lost three men trying to recover them all.

Three men too many, in his opinion.

Then there was also the fact that Danzo had been at this for a _long_ time; ever since Hiruzen had become Hokage in fact. Trying to go back through all of the evidence, tracking down all the scars left upon the world, both within Konoha and without was a near impossible task.

For the hundredth time that day, Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing he had never allowed Danzo free reign and leaving him with this mess, which in many cases were simply far too sensitive to really do anything with it, other than either storing it or destroying it.

All of the Sharingan they had discovered, for instance…

Sighing, Hiruzen cleaned his pipe, and grabbed his bag with tobacco, beginning to fill it once more as his eyes looked out over his moonlit with a faraway expression.

' _Danzo… damn you and damn your ambition. And damn me. For making you shoulder the darkness of the Tree of Konoha alone. But I wished to be its leaves, to bask in the light, and didn't have the strength to stoop to the darkness as well, to be the roots that support the tree from the shadows. I guess we both thought that you did have the strength for that, but looking back… yes you were the roots, but of a tree of your own Danzo; you weren't supporting Konoha, you were strangling it.'_

As he lit his pipe with a small flame from his thumb that briefly illuminated his office, Hiruzen mused over his final meeting with his former adviser, and the man he had called, long ago, his friend.

* * *

 _Hiruzen stared at the wall of black flames that cut off him and his army from the retreating back of the young Itachi Uchiha. He was pretty sure he was the only one that paid enough attention to see the boy's shoulders shaking, or notice the brief flash of tears as they fell to the ground. As he stood still, staring at the back of the promising young man whose future he had doomed, he absently noticed as the men around him found that nothing they did, not even the combined Water Jutsu of a dozen shinobi, could quench the flames the kinslayer had summoned, though Hiruzen had already realized this._

'Amaterasu. So, you have evolved the cursed eyes from your Clan then, young Itachi.' _Hiruzen thought to himself._

" _Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!_ _It's Danzo sir, we've found him."_

 _Turning to look at the Salamander mask, Hiruzen was only briefly taken off-guard by the man waving two whole arms, before remembering that he had another ANBU take up the mask in order to quash any possible rumors about Konoha being short an ANBU Commander._

 _Making his way to where the faux-Salamander was standing, the Hokage's eyes landed on the mangled, bloodied form of the man responsible for much of this mess in the first place. Either by a miracle or sheer strength of will, the aged advisor was still alive, one hand feebly trying to halt the flow of blood coming from a deep cut across his entire chest._

" _Thank you, Salamander. Please get a medic, Shimura-san is in need of medical attention."_

 _All of them knew that Danzo was too far gone for medical help, even if Tsunade herself were willing to operate on him. They also all knew that even if this wasn't the case, Hiruzen wouldn't be sending for medical help anyways. So as the ANBU pretending to be Salamander sped away in a Shunshin Danzo couldn't help but give out a wet chuckle, knowing that wherever the ANBU was going, it certainly wouldn't be a hospital._

" _Well then, Hiruzen, it seems you have won in the end. Using me and my Root to attack Madara, instead of using your own men, while crippling the Uchiha forever. Well done." The traitor gasped out, his voice barely carrying to Hiruzen, who kneeled in the ash and dust next to him, bowing over the man, conveniently blocking the view of the steadily growing group of onlookers._

" _Well to be honest, I couldn't have done this if it weren't for you." Said Hiruzen, his tone biting._

' _I wouldn't have_ needed _to do this is if it weren't for you' went unsaid, though Danzo's frown told him that he advisor had picked up on it nonetheless. Spitting out the blood that had flown into his mouth from his internal bleeding, Danzo glared at his former rival and friend, the strength of his will unbroken by the failing of his body._

" _Hate me all you want Hiruzen, but we are different sides to the same coin. Every action you have ever made, you did with the conviction that it was for the betterment of Konoha. I merely did the same."_

 _Hiruzen felt rage roar to life inside him, but his control slammed down on his massive chakra, yearning to lash out, while he carefully schooled his features in a cool expression._

" _Forgive me for having trouble believing that you acted in the betterment of Konoha as I'm sitting in its burning remains and amongst its slain people."_

 _Danzo simply gritted his teeth, his hand grabbing the hem of Hiruzen's battle attire, dragging the Hokage closer as he lifted himself a little of the ground, desperately chocking out his final words to the only man he had ever considered a true equal._

" _It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not, Hiruzen. I don't matter,_ you _don't matter._ Konoha _is the only thing in this wretched world that matters. Amongst all of the death and destruction that this world of ours is filled with, it is_ Konoha _that must survive, that must endure. I won't be there to do your dirty deeds anymore Hiruzen. I won't be there to take the darkness within me, leaving you to bask in the light._ You _must ensure the survival of our Village, and to do that you will have to become both leaf and root. I don't care anymore how you'll lead the Village Hiruzen, I won't be around to judge anyway, but you_ MUST _make sure that it endures. Can you do that, Hiruzen? Will you see to it that the generations to come will have a Village to inherit, to be proud of, and to pass on to their generation?"_

 _Speaking for so long and with such passion clearly took its toll on the badly injured advisor, and with a rattling breath, Danzo fell back to earth, his arm limply falling away from Hiruzen's clothes. For a single moment Hiruzen merely looked at his oldest friend, a single heartbeat stretched out into a lifetime, as he considered the man in front of him, all of their history together, how often they had clashed, especially in later years, but now also remembering the early years of their friendship. When Konoha was still the only Hidden Village in the world, and more a dream of the Senju brothers than reality, even as the first few Clans settled down under their banner. A time before the war, when two boys of differing Clans managed to become friends, a time before one of them was chosen to become Hokage, while the other fell to jealousy and greed._

 _Finally, Hiruzen gently clasped his former friend's hand and placed it upon Danzo's chest, looking in the elderly shinobi's eye with a saddened expression on his face._

" _Yes. I promise."_

 _Briefly, Danzo's eye lit up before the man let out a deep sigh, and with an expression more peaceful than Hiruzen had ever seen on him, Shimura_ _Danzo, leader of Root, passed away._

 _Lifting his hand, Hiruzen softly closed the open eye of Danzo, before coming to his feet, surprised by the ache he felt inside his chest._

" _Goodbye. Old friend."_

* * *

Hiruzen sighed, before extinguishing his pipe, plunging himself and his office in darkness, only slightly lifted by the moon peeking out from behind the clouds that hung over the sleeping Village of Konoha. Slowly he let his face drop in his hands, and for once, just this once, in the privacy of his office, Hiruzen caved in to the enormous weight of his position.

As the night slowly went by, one old man gave in to all his regrets and mistakes he had made over the course of his long life, unwilling to face sleep and the dreams and monsters that it brought along with it.

* * *

 **Fun Fact (Credit goes to DanYHKim):** The Ōnaruto Bridge (Great Naruto Bridge) is a suspension bridge on the route connecting Minamiawaji, Hyogo on Awaji Island with Naruto, Tokushima on Ōge Island, Japan. Completed in 1985, it has a main span of 876 metres. The waterway is very hazardous because of whirlpools that form as the tide changes. These whirlpools are called Uzumaki.


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